Dogs of War

Chapters

Chapter 2: P.O.D (Prisoner of Dogs)
Chapter 3: The Test of Will
Chapter 4: Core beliefs
Chapter 5: Camping with man's best friend
Chapter 6: A not so friendly midnight stroll
Chapter 7: The Winter tribe
Chapter 8: Bread and Flutterbutter
Chapter 10: Ventures in the Crystal Empire Pt.2
Chapter 11: Ventures in the Crystal Empire Pt.3
Chapter 12: The calm before...
Chapter 13: The oncoming storm
Chapter 14: The demons of the cold
Chapter 15: Catching up
Chapter 16: Consequence of action
Chapter 17: He who dreams of cobalt sheep
Chapter 1: How it all began
Chapter 9: Ventures in the Crystal Empire Pt.1
The chapter in which the author went on haitus for a month

Chapter 2: P.O.D (Prisoner of Dogs)

<<<<<>>>>>

"Hey! Wake up!"

I opened my eyes and uncrossed my arms and legs as I turned to the bars just to see one of the lackey dogs staring at me with black, beady eyes as he opened my cell door.

"What?" I asked, my voice suprisingly hoarse already from lack of liquid sustenance, for there was no way I was drinking from that puddle of water in my cell.

But if my voice is hoarse...then I've already been here for at least several hours. I thought with a shudder. On that note, how much time has passed? I shouldn't have passed out, now I have no way of knoing the time!

I was jolted from my thoughts as the dog walked forward and brought me to my feet as he 'guided' me out of the cage by almost dragging me until I got good enough footing to walk besides him.

"It is time for slave to work. I take you to Kogan, and he will give you job." The dog explained as I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Kogan, huh? Must be the tall dogs name. I wonder if I could learn more about these guys somehow...maybe I could get the dumber ones to spill enough beans for me to escape.

"So, if Kogan is your boss, what's your name?" I asked him as he paused momentarily at an intersection before turning down a leftwards path, but not before I saw some sort of light coming from the right path.

The dog tightened his grip on my arm, as if knowing what I had saw and was making sure I didn't go anywhere near it.

An exit, perhaps? Or maybe something else?

"I have no name. Only important dogs get names...I never earned one." He said as I couldn't help but feel slightly bad for the guy, I mean who gets told they can't have a name because they aren't important?!

Two lefts and a right turn later, and I found myself being dragged into a decently lit room stock full of gems and crystals that made me quiver in excitement.

"Whoa...are those real?" I asked eagerly as I eyed a patch of diamonds that were jutting out of the roof above us. The dog nodded and brought me over to the tall dog from before, presenting me like a trophy while he lowered his head.

"Alpha Kogan, I've brought the prisoner." He said as he let go of me and backed away while Kogan smiled at me and tapped his stick on the ground, eyeing me with silver colored eyes as I couldn't help but feel nervous.

"You...do you have magic?" He asked me. which made me shake my head, confused as to why I was even asked such a thing.

"Not unless you count parlor tricks." I told him, earning a sigh from the dog as he pointed at a tunnel nearby.

"Go down that path and grab a pickaxe then, and start mining with the others." He said, surprising me with the level of freedom I had with walking there by myself. He must've seen my questioning look because he put a paw on my shoulder, looking me directly in the eyes with a stare cold as ice.

"You have nothing to worry about...no one leaves the Yaket Range cliffs without losing a few fingers to the cold." Kogan stated with a barking laugh that his subordinate wheezed alongside with as I turned and walked down the cave pointed out for me, now even more on my mind than before as I kept my gaze to the ground.

Cold? Then we must be somewhere up north...in wherever the hell we are. And Yaket Range? I found myself slowly panicking as one of my fears were being confirmed, especially since that name rung zero bells in my mind.

I'm no longer anywhere near home...am I?

Walking into a new room, I couldn't help but notice I wasn't alone as I noticed two shadows bleeding from the lamplight that was in the room. Looking up, I noticed two figures, both of which only added on to the stress I was feeling.

To my left, there was another biped like me swinging a huge pickaxe into a rock orifice. The yellow furred thing had hooves on its hind legs that were shackled by heavy weights, but had fingers that could grip the wooden base of the pickaxe firmly as it swung into the rock wall with ease, each strike sensing several rubies and various other gems to the ground where it stood.

The being on my right was...less impressive. It looked like a small horse, but it had one of those weird hairdos you'd see on some fashion designer, as if it was deciding between a bun and curls as its yellow mane had several strands going down its head. It also sported similar shackles to the biped, but they hung off its wings instead.

What caught me the most off guard though was that it had wings! A horse...with wings! And it was swinging its pickaxe (Or attempting to anyway) into his own part of the rock wall, with much less jewels on his end.

I landed on my rear with a hand on my forehead as I found myself attempting processing all of this information.

That thing with wings...wasn't that a pegasus? I think I saw one in a greek history book somewhere, maybe even that hercules movie a while back...and if we are following the same mindset, then the other thing has to be a minotaur...right?

Ignoring the fact that I was shaking slightly at the sight of ancient Greek beings, I looked around and spotted several pickaxes next to the other stocky dog from before, who was giving me a sidelong glance as I approached and grabbed the tool, having to use both hands due to its unfamiliar weight.

"You fell...are you ok?" He asked, surprising me as I turned to him.

"Yeah...just letting everything sink in is all." I stated, ignoring the urge to hurl from the swirl of emotions in my mind as the dog shrugged.

"As long as you stay awake, is what matters. Can't work if you sleep." He said as I nodded before I walked over to where the minotaur was and looked from the open part of the wall to my pickaxe, watching it swing into the wall a few times before readying myself.

How hard can this be? I thought as I reared the pickaxe behind my head...

...only to underestimate the weight of it and fall backwards with it, which both of my fellow prisoners noticed as the minotaur spoke up first and turned to me, laughing as she pointed a finger at me.

"Ha! Bertha hasn't seen such a idiotic display since Mr. Frou Frou over there arrived!" The apparently female minotaur stated as I looked up at her...before averting my gaze to the pegasus due to realizing the minotaur had cleavage and was wearing what had to be some sort of combination between a shirt and a bra that barely fit her and was veeeeery seeable from underneath.

"Hey hey! I am not Frou frouey!" The pegasus stated in a scratchy male voice that made me want to cover my ears permanently from how annoying it sounded. He put a hoof to his chest as he looked away as he raised his nose in the air slightly. "I am simply more enlightened than you in the art of looks."

Bertha grumbled some rather nasty words, but decided to drop it before she turned back to me, a more playful look dancing across her eyes as she noticed my refusal to look her in the eyes.

"Ignore Breeze. He's an insult to males everywhere." She raised her pickaxe and faced the wall as I stood up, my red face clearing away quickly. "Now, since your new and all Bertha will show you how to swing the pickaxe." She slowly reared the axe back before swinging it directly onto the rock wall, sending a handful of emeralds to the ground.

She turned back to me and smiled. "See, control is the key here." She tilted her head slightly as she looked me over. "Who...and what are you? Bertha has never seen something like you before."

I smiled sheepishly as I ran my fingers along the wooden handle of the pickaxe, choosing to ignore the cries of frustration from the pegasus as he attempted to untangle his pickaxe from his chains as he had somehow managed to get them jumbled up.

"I'm Mitch...and I'm not from around here." I said solemnly as I turned and reared back the pickaxe, slowly this time like Bertha had showed me, and slammed it into the rock wall, producing a diamond or two from the rubble.

Bertha turned to her part of the wall and chuckled, doing the same as me as she nearly took out half the wall with a big swing. "Sounds like a strong name...and I could tell your something different. I haven't seen many species wear full sets of clothes other than Minotaur noblemen."

I looked myself over at that, from my black sweats and my dirt-stained shirt to the once was white jordans I was wearing that were now a solid brown.

"Yeah...I'm one of a kind." I said grimly, mostly to myself as I realized I may be the only human wherever I was now...and I didn't know how to feel about that just yet.

Shaking that thought away though, I continued to work away at the wall until while keeping up conversation with my fellow inmates.

"So, how'd someone as strong as you get imprisoned?" I asked the minotaur, causing her to swing into the rock face much harder than before, nearly causing the wall to collapse as she faced me with a glint of rage in her eye.

"Kogan, their Alpha, took my calf, and he only way to get him back is to work for them." She said as Breeze finally untangled his pickaxe and turned to me.

"I was simply looking for a new school to go to in the empire, but then the dogs dragged me straight into the ground!" Breeze kicked a small Boulder across the room as he turned away with a groan. "A stallion rests his wings for one second and BOOM! Slave labor for life!"

Bertha gave me a sidelong glance while she looked at the wall for any more openings. "What's your story, Mitch? why are you here?"

I sighed, putting down the pickaxe and stretching out my back.

"I signed a contract with the wrong guy to help someone close to me, and now I'm stuck who knows where being forced to work for fucking DOGS!" I started quietly, but ended up yelling at the end as I grabbed the pickaxe and slammed it into the wall, right next to where Bertha had slammed hers earlier.

The reaction was immediate. The wall crumbled apart, sending up a trail of dust that both blinded everyone and sent (mostly me) into a coughing fit for a couple seconds afterwards.

When the dust settled though, there was a smaller cavern entrance left behind, about the size for one of the dogs to go through, although it had these weird rune like symbols lining the edges of the caverns entrance.

"HEY!" The guard dog ran over to us before noticing the mini cave, making his eyes light up as he gave us a smile. "You found it! The boss will be proud!"

He turned and ran out of our part of the cave, yelling "Stay there!" over his shoulder, while we all just looked at each other in confusion.

"What was that all about?" I asked Bertha while Breeze walked over to us.

"Who cares! As long as I don't have to swing that axe anymore I'm ok with anything." He said as he crumpled to the ground in a heap while Bertha rolled her eyes.

"Stupid stallion." She grumbled before turning to face the newly found cave. "Why did that dog react to this archway like that?"

I looked up at her for a second before returning my gaze to the wall, looking closely as I noticed there were five different symbols lining the wall in a pattern...though what the meant was beyond me.

"Not sure...perhaps it's what they were looking for though?" I pointed out as Breeze looked up at me in shock.

"Your telling me they had us digging for who knows how long just to find ANOTHER cave?!" He exclaimed as I shrugged, running a hand through my hair and noticing it was getting kinda long in the front.

Can't do much about that right now. I thought to myself with a chuckle as I looked to the pegasus, who seemed on the verge of another fit.

"Maybe, how much of the gems did they actually keep after you guys mined them?" I asked, causing Bertha to growl.

"They put them in some room down the hall that's locked up...that's where my calf is supposed to be as well." She stated angrily as I frowned, rubbing my chin in thought as I thought about what she said.

Down the hall? Ah! that cavern that had the light at the end of the tunnel! I remembered just as the guard dog came back with Kogan.

Before any of us could say a thing, Kogan raised his staff and pointed down the hall where he had came from.

"Go. We have prepared food for you in thanks of finding the Duisternis gate." Kogan said as he pointed to the dog that was with him. "Take them to their meals."

Breeze cheered in delight. "Yes! Finally we get to eat!" He exclaimed in joy as I looked at him in slight horror.

How long has it been since his last meal?! I thought, noticing he did kinda look skinny...but then again I knew next to nothing about dietary needs of pegasi, so that could just be normal.

Bertha looked happy as well, but seemed more focused on something else as she stared the dog straight on, allowing me to see that she was easily two to three feet bigger than both me and Kogan.

"When will I get my son back?" She demanded, shocking me as that's the first time she's used first person.

Kogan smiled and waved her off, turning and facing the new cave. "Your son will be returned to you after your done with your meal, for I have no need of you three anymore."

Bertha growled, but her eyes shined with relief. "He better not be harmed in any way or else!"

Kogan didn't respond as we turned and walked out of the room, thought before I got out of earshot I hear him mutter something under his breath.

"With this, even I could stand against the Grandmaster and his disciples."

<<<<<>>>>>

"Man, flower sandwiches never tasted so good!" Breeze stated aloud as he dug into his meal.

When we were brought into that area in the cave where it spit off multiple ways, we had found a blanket laid out in the middle of the room with a lot of food on it. The two guard dogs themselves had their own food with them (both seemed to be eating drumsticks, but the meat had a weird color to it.) and it was clear we were able to simply dig in whenever we wanted.

So of course the fucking pegasus nearly tackled the picnic and it took Bertha to restrain him until he calmed down and we were able to distribute the food evenly so everyone could eat enough to be satisfied. Bertha got a sandwiche or two, though most of those went to Breeze, and even had what looked like hay sitting next to her.

I, however, immediately claimed all the meat products as soon as I saw them, much to the shock of Breeze and suprise of Bertha when I had nearly destroyed five drumsticks in under a minute. Thankfully, after a quick minute of explanation on me being an omnivore, they seemed to understand...even if Breeze looked at me warily every now and then.

"Flower Sandwiches? What the hell?" I commented as Breeze opened his with one of his wings, showing me the daisy inside.

"Yup! These things are amazing!" He said, taking a glorified bite out of his sandwich as Bertha was pulling off the daisies from hers.

"Bertha isn't a fan of daisies, too chewy." She said as she flicked them at Breeze, snapping him in the face and covering his eyes with the flowers.

As we cracked up at the sight, Breeze huffed and looked away, taking an angry yet small bite out of his sandwich.

I turned to Bertha as I reached for an apple. "So, what did you do for a living before getting jailhoused?"

Bertha smiled and puffed out her chest in pride, to the embarrasent of both me and Breeze as we looked anywhere but up at her.

"Bertha was a blacksmith for the minotaurs of her city! I spent day and night shaping weapons and armour from the sleek steel that my fellow lower class citizens brought to me." She explained as I smiled.

A blacksmith? Maybe that's why she was so natural at mining for gems...who knows how many times shes worked with tools and ore before?

"Damn, that's awesome." I stated, making her smile back as I turned to Breeze just as he finished off his six sandwich. "What about you, Breeze? What was your calling?" I asked him, taking a huge bite out of my apple.

Breeze looked at me with a smile as he stood to his hooves. "That, my friend, is something I was on a journey to find out myself! I had heard of a nice manestyling school in the north and had decided to check ot out." He sighed and sat back down. "And...you know what happened there."

I raised an eyebrow at him as I threw the fully eaten apple core behind me. "Manestyling? Like a barber or something?"

He went to shake his head before putting a hoof to his chin. "Well...it's more complicated than that." He said as he eyed my head carefully. "If you want, I could touch up that mane of yours, orange manes were so last year, and Ive heard lavender manes are the way to go!"

I placed my hands on my hair defensively as I shook my head. "Nope Nope Nope! I am NOT changing to lavender! You know how non-manly that is?!"

Bertha snorted. "You two talking about manes like teenage cows is unmanly as it is, so don't worry about that now." She stated with a smirk, making me glare at her while Breeze snorted out a huff.

"Whatever ya say, D-Cup." I stated before I could realize what I was saying and clamped my right hand on my mouth, but it was too late.

Breezes' jaw dropped and he quickly got to his hooves and started backing away just as Bertha gave me the "women's glare."

If ya don't know about that glare or haven't pissed off a female enough to make them do use it, your one absolutely lucky guy. The "women's glare" is what happens when a woman glares at you in a way that let's you know she's going to kill you, feast on your innards, and burn your body in the name of her Amazon brethren...

...And I was on the receiving end of it.

"What did you just say?" She growled as I found myself slowly crawling backwards as she got to her feet and began to walk towards me.

"I-I didn't mean anything by it, Bertha!" I hurriedly explained as I soon felt my back hit a wall. Gotta get out of this quick! "Your...chest is perfectly normal size-"

"QUIET!!!" She yelled as she hoisted me up by shirt and brought me up to her eye level as she was inches from my face. (Which didn't help the whole 'cleavage' issue due to said objects literally being pressed up against my chest.)

This is it, I am going to die by the hands of a hairy woman...hey! That oracle at the fair last year was right!

She kept glaring at me for several seconds before she bursted out laughing, dropping me to the ground as I slowly began to get control of my rapidly-beating heart.

"You should've seen your face!" She exclaimed as I looked up at her while Breeze, who had hidden behind one of the dogs, came out from hiding and let out a sigh of relief.

"So, your not going to kill me?" I asked as she looked down at me and shook her head.

"Of course not! In my country, opposite sex taking notice of one's parts is something to take pride in." She helped me to my feet as we walked back to the picnic area and sat down. "It shows we are desirable for mating and shouldn't be ashamed of our bodies."

My face was now a volcano of red as I turned to the two guard dogs who had watched the whole thing without lifting a finger.

"Why the hell didn't you two do anything? Aren't you supposed to stop fights or something?" I asked them as the one that had waken me up earlier shook his head.

"Your no longer needed for mining, so why should we care if you hurt each other." He said as the other wheezed out a laugh and gave me a wicked smile.

"Besides, it's free show!" He exclaimed as they and even Bertha laughed, making me face-palm as Breeze shook his head and took a bite out of another sandwich.

"I'm surrounded by crazy folk." He muttered to himself.

Author's Note

Boom! Chapter 2 is released, and Mitch has found himself in the company of a bulked up Minotaur and everybody's least favorite pegasus.

To be honest, I almost didn't put him in this story due to my own self loathing of the character that is Zephyr. However, after looking him over and rewatching the episodes he is in, I realized he does have potential for ~~Greatness~~ okness. That, and he's a suprise tool that will come in handy later.

Oh, and I do not apologize for giving a minotaur that sort of...arsenal. I just barely see minotaurs used and decided add her in and just rolled with it.

Next chapter, things will begin to get a bit more serious though, so watch out!

And as always, comments are always appreciated! See yall next time!

Chapter 3: The Test of Will

<<<<<>>>>>

After everyone had calmed down from the whole D-Cup fiasco, conversation dipped into the more casual pool of topics while one of the guard dogs went for our things. (and kid, in Berthas case...while for their sake I hoped the kid was treated well for Bertha could easily rip either of the dogs in two if she felt the need.)

It was during this casual conversation however that we somehow got Breeze to accidently tell us his full name.

"Your full name is Zephyr Petunia Breeze?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow as the stallion looked away and crossed his forelegs, hiding the red hue of his face from Bertha and myself.

"...My mom thought I was a girl when I was born, ok? Doesn't help that my mane is naturally marely as well." He grumbled as he fluffed his hair slightly while Bertha pursed her lips for a moment before speaking up.

"Well, since Petunia has told us something embarrassing, it feels right that we speak something of the same case, if only for my honor and being fair among anything else." She said before sighing while Zephyr frowned and turned away but kept his ears turned towards her. I had decided to lean in close, however, eager to hear her tale.

"The Big part of my name doesn't originate from my muscular figure...it comes from when I was a calf myself." She patted her ten-pack with a small grin. "I used to weigh almost a ton when I was a little heifer. The calfs would always make fun of me, and one of the more popular words they used was Big Bertha." She shook her head and flexed her arms. "Course, this caused Bertha to start working out, and ended up with what you see now." She finished, making both of us look at her in shock.

"Your telling me you used to be fat?!" Breeze exclaimed before walking up to her quickly, his wing chains clanking together as he grabbed her by her right bicep. "You MUST tell me how you got so ripped! Do you know how easy it would be to woo the ladies if I had your muscles?"

I snorted a laugh at his silly behavior. "Why? Got someone your trying to impress?"

He turned to me and nodded. "More like impress more! She's already head over hooves for me, and if I could get muscular like Bertha here? I'd be set for life!" He exclaimed with pride as he sat down on his flank and turned back to Bertha with a look of excitement in his eyes. "So, how'd you do it?"

Bertha smirked and crossed her arms, though she tried to cross her legs but was stopped by the leg chains. "Easy. All you have to do is chain a boulder to your back and attach ten pound weights to your arms...then walk through your town you live at...for several years." She stated as Zephyrs face fell and he walked back to his original spot across the picnic area before slumping to the ground.

"On second thought...I think the mare of my dreams would prefer my sleek body over a muscular one." He stated before pointing a hoof at me. "What about you, Mitch? Got anypony your trying to woo?"

"As of right now...nope." I stated with a slight deadpan. I mean, no girls in college really suited me, and I was far too focused on studying to try and date anyone anyway. "Besides, I doubt anyone around here is my type."

Bertha scoffed. "You can't be serious. With the amount of species around this country your bound to be attracted to someone sooner or later." She said with a smirk as she gave me a wink. "Especially since only one day into meeting me you kept eyeing my breasts."

My face burned as I let out a deep breath. "Bertha, I am a male. It is our NATURE to stare at girls with ample body parts." I stated with a groan. "Aren't you married anyway?"

Bertha shrugged. "Of course, and to a fine minotaur of a man too! But we are only a herd of three and need a few more to complete it." She said as Zephyr nodded with a smile.

"Ah, I figured a minotaur like you would have a healthy herd. How is it being part of one?" He asked her as I tuned them out while thinking over what she said.

Herd? Like that stuff lions do when there is one male and like twenty females? How does that work? Do they take turns with sex, or is it one huge orgy? And that stuff is LEGAL here? Where the hell did that guy send me?!

But before I could voice these questions, we were interrupted by the other guard dog returning to the room with a sack in his right paw and what looked like a three foot tall minotaur alongside him with his left.

"Kujo!" Bertha screamed out as she raised her fists into the air and brought them down on her chains, immediately shattering them on contact as she got up and pulled the rather small sized minotaur from the dogs grasp.

"Momma!" He exclaimed, his yellow eyes nearly in tears at the sight of his mother as they embraced each other for what had to be the first time in a long while.

Turning from the couple, I could see Zephyr going through the sack while the guard dog undid his wing chains.

"Hey! My duffel bag!" He exclaimed, shaking off his chains as he pulled out a blue bag from the sack and opened it quickly before letting out a gasp of relief. "Oh thank Celestia everything is still in here!"

Smiling as I looked between the Mom and son reunion and Zephyr snuggling his duffel bag, I didn't notice the dog approach me with the sack until he held it out towards me.

"Uh...I didn't bring anything." I told him as he rolled his eyes.

"We found these around the area where you were captured." He stated before dumping the back out on the ground, revealing the phone holder for my car, a broken GPS, some scattered paper that looked like receipts for a tea set (where'd that even come from, I don't even like tea?!) and...

"My Phone!?!" I yelled out as I reached down and grabbed it, immediately pressing the power and watched as it powered on. "YES! It still works!"

As I celebrated having something useful with me, Bertha pulled her kid back and looked him in the eyes.

"Kujo..did they hurt you in any way at all?" She asked with pure ice in her tone as Kujo shook his head and smiled, oblivious to his mother's rage.

"Nope! They fed Kujo extra snacks and let Kujo sleep for a long time!" He stated with pride as Bertha glared at the two dogs, causing both of them to flinch as one held the other by the shoulders and stood behind him.

"Good. Wouldn't want to have to exert myself so soon after being set free." She said as she turned to me while standing up. "So, what happens now Mitch?"

I shrugged as Zephyr stretched out his wings and began to flap them. "I think I'm going to try and track down the guy who sent me here, or at least find a way back home." I said as I looked to the ground, worried about the upcoming future. "I have family I need to get back to, and who knows how worried sh-they are."

Bertha nodded as Zephyr let out a whoop of joy as he sailed around us, though that didn't stop me from noticing the guards walk down the passage that led to the tunnel I had found earlier.

"A noble mission, young one. I would help you, but I have a family of my own that needs caring after, I am lead cow after all." She said, nuzzling the giggling child in her arms as Zephyr landed next to me with his duffel on his back.

"Sorry, Mitch. It's been fun and all, but I got to get to the empire and see if they have anything for me there." He said before his eyes widened and he smiled. "You should come with me! The Crystal Empire is supposed to be extremely magical or something, maybe the princess could send you home!"

I couldn't help but get excited at that prospect, though doubt came shortly afterwards as I began to think about what he said.

"You really think some princess is going to help a random guy like me?" I asked him, noticing I only had two apps on my phone but nonetheless pocketing my phone as he waved a hoof at me.

"Please, she's supposed to be the sweetest of the four royal alicorns. She'd help Nightmare Moon if the mare asked nicely." He said, confusing me with the last part but restoring some of my hope regardless, especially if it meant a way home.

Bertha lowered her kid to the ground and grabbed him by his right hand with her left before the cavern path that had light at the end of it. "Now, I believe it's time we all-"

She never finished as a loud bang went off from the room to our left, the same one the dogs went down moments ago as a trail of smoke started to seep into the room at a snails pace.

"Uh...what was that?" Zephyr stated as I stroked the stubble on my chin as I thought it over.

'Well, the only thing down there were the three dogs and that tunnel Bertha and I found. So I'd guess whatever was in the tunnel caused the explosion." I inferred as Bertha picked up her kid and out him on her back.

"Momma...what's that black fog?" Kujo asked her as Bertha shook her head, moving over to the tunnel on the other side of the room and away from the smoke.

"I don't know, son. But if it gets close hold your breath. Last thing we need is a dose of poison in our lungs from cave gas." She commanded as Zephyr took to the air and turned to me.

"Time to go!" He exclaimed as I nodded and pulled my shirt up to my nose as I began to follow him and Bertha through the tunnel, noticing the light at the end getting bigger and brighter.

"HELP!!!"

Stopping in my tracks, I turned and saw one of the guard dogs crawling out of the smoke, though he looked far worse for wear than before.

I could only see the upper half of his body, but there were parts of his chest that looked like it had rotted away. His right arm had scratches on it that were bleeding out as he crawled towards me.

Getting closer, but not close enough for contact, I gave him a horrified stare as I pulled down my shirt.

"What the hell happened in that cavern?" I asked him as he stopped crawling and loomed up at me, his beady eyes nearly pulsing with fright as he took a small breath and answered me.

"Kogan looked into the darkness...and blinked."

As soon as he said that, the dog let out a yelp of fear before he suddenly was yanked backwards by whatever the hell was in the smoke.

Oooooooooh heeeeeeeell no!

Falling on my back in shock, I quickly started crawling backwards while the smoke began to speed up, nipping at my shoes before I was able to get back to my feet and start high-tailing it towards the light.

"Shit shit shit shit shit!" I yelled out constantly as I kept running, not daring to look back as I felt something slice across my left arm, leaving a searing pain that stung like hell just as I made it to the caves exit.

"Bertha! Zephyr! MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!!" I roared as I made it out of the cave and jumped to the side, barely avoiding the rush of smoke that bursted from the caves maw, followed by the most demonic howling I have ever heard, causing me to flatten myself against the wall I was pressed against and cover my ears.

After what seemed like hours the smoke vanished and the howling stopped, allowing me to finally breath again and look around, firstly noticing my fellow ex-prisoners/comrades.

Bertha had dove stomach across the snow to move out of the way of the smoke and was now standing up, dusting off the little remnants of white ice that was on her. Kujo, the poor boy, had latched onto his mother's back in fright and didn't look like he was letting go anytime soon as he kept his eyes clenched up tight.

Turning to the other side of the cave opening, I saw Zephyr land on the ground after what had to be him taking flight and trot over to me, relief in his eyes as he looked me over.

"Mitch, Thank goodness your safe! Why did you stop in the cave?" He asked me as I shuddered slightly, partially from the sudden cold and partially from the memory of the guard dog that had watched over us before while we were mining.

"One of the dogs came out of the smoke and I thought I could help him...but he was badly cut up and his fur looked all rotted." I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself and flinching at the feel of blood on my right hand.

Bertha noticed the cut and walked over, kneeling down and looking it over while Zephyr turned green in the face and looked away.

"What did that to you? Other than Kogan, neither of the dogs had weapons, so how'd you get that wound?" She asked me as I shrugged, deciding to ignore the cut since it wasn't too big and didn't ache too bad.

Besides, there were bigger things to worry about.

"Don't know, but whatever I was too out of my mind to look behind me and see." I said as my pocket began to vibrate, letting off that little jingle Androids do when they have a call incoming.

Zephyr eyed my pants and tilted his head to the side. "Um...what's that noise?"

I suppressed another freezing shudder and pulled my phone out and looked at the screen. Sure enough, there was a call coming in...though it's caller I.D only had one letter:

Swiping the green icon, I put the phone up to my ear.

"Yello?" I asked, unsure of who could've possibly called me into this place.

"Ah! You picked up! That means you must have found your belongings I sent with you." A familiar voice rang out as I suddenly felt the chill in the air stop affecting me as my temper flared.

"YOU!!!" I yelled into the phone, shocking Bertha and Zephyr while Kujo had fallen asleep and didn't respond to my outburst. "What the hell were you thinking sending me to a mountain of fucking snow?!" I exclaimed, looking around as we were surrounded by nothing but snow and cliffs.

The voice on the other side scoffed. "Don't blame me! YOUR the one who grabbed my wrist and messed up my magic! Stuff is hard enough to control anyway without your grubby little fingers messing with it."

Turning to the cave, I couldn't help but groan. "Magic spell? What are you on about? I was a fucking prisoner in a cave!"

"Hmm...then you ran into the dogs earlier than you should've. This could be bad." He paused as I heard another voice on his end, a soft feminine voice that barely registered in the phones speaker. "I'll be just a second, Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy? Who the hell is that? I frowned before looking at Zephyr who was putting on a sweater from his duffel bag while asking Bertha about how she met her mate. Must be a pony then, considering Zephyr and his wonky name.

"Alright, where are you?" The voice asked me, bringing me put of my thoughts as I pursed my lips.

"Umm..." Someone said it earlier...it was yaken range or something...thats it!

"Oh! I'm somewhere in the Yaket mountain range!" I told him as I looked around, admiring the blue and white backdrop of the snowy peaks around us.

A groan could be heard from the other side. "Damn, and here I thought you'd be near town. Listen carefully, did anything...odd happen to you yet?"

Zephyr walked up to me and gave me a blanket from his bag and a smile.

"Here, you looked like you need this." He said as I mouthed a thank you and wrapped myself up in it, noticing it only covered my upper half but was thankful for any buffer to the cold.

"Well, there was this weird cavern with runes and some deadly smoke." I informed him as I heard what sounded like a cup shatter on his end.

"Mitch, this is very important. I need you to go back into that cave and seal off that tunnel with the runes." He stated, his voice wavering slightly as I startled by his demand.

"What?! Why the hell would I ever go back in that cave?!" I exclaimed as the voice on the other side grunted in exasperation.

"Do you want to ever go home?" He asked me as went to argue more but couldnt find the words. "Thought so. If you want to find your way back to Earth, your first going to need a magic core."

"Magic core?" I asked, confused as to what that was, let alone the prospect of magic existing.

"Indeed. Every living being in Equiis has one...except you. And you'll find that your life will be much easier here once you get one."

So...its like an upgrade? I thought as I nodded. "Right, so how do I get a magic core?"

"That tunnel you found...go find it and submerge most of your body in the pool inside it. Be careful though...if my suspicions are correct any tunnels that high up in Equestria are guarded by...things."

"Things?" I asked, now a little more than worried. I heard a small laugh on the other end though as I the man responded.

"Yup! Don't worry though, anything in the Yaket Range can't be that tough. Get the core, seal the cave, and make sure stay alive! I cant have you complete your side of the contract if your dead!" He said before hanging up, causing me to bring the phone down from my ear and put it in my pocket.

"Mitch...were you talking to somepony on that?" Zephyr asked as he and Bertha approached me, the latter looking more on the matter confused than the suprisingly curious Zephyr.

I smiled weakly, rubbing the back of my head while holding the blanket in place with my other hand. "Y-Yeah...it was the guy who sent me here."

Zephyr gasped, while Bertha frowned at the mention of the man that had torn me from my world.

"What did he want?" She asked tensly as I sighed and pointed at the cave.

"Apparently, I've got to go back into the cave and get a magic core from that tunnel we found, then seal it up afterwards." I told them, causing Zephyr to shake his head rapidly as he took a couple steps back.

"No...No No No No. I am NOT going back in that cave! If what you said about the dogs was true, then there's something dangerous in there!" He shouted as he looked between me and Bertha and turned away from us. "Do what you want, but I am out of here! No ones making monster food out of Zephyr Breeze!"

"Breeze, Wait!" I called to him, halting him as he was about to take off. "I can't force you to go in the cave, but could you at least wait out here for me? I'd rather not be on this mountain alone when I return."

He turned to me, putting down the duffel bag with a sigh.

"Fine. But if you don't come out in an hour I'm leaving for the Empire." He said as Bertha walked over to Zephyr and laid her kid down on his duffel bag.

"Look after my son, Breeze." She said as she turned to me with a smirk. "What are you waiting for?"

I blinked in suprise, not expecting Bertha to want to come with me. "Really? Things are probably going to get dangerous."

Bertha laughed and flexed her right arm as she walked towards the cave. "Bertha can't let someone as small as you face such dangers then, huh? Besides, your the one who found that cave and set both me and Kujo free, it's the least Bertha can do to pay you back."

Smiling at that, I turned back to Zephyr and gave him the blanket he gave me.

"The kid needs that more than I do right now, and for both of our sakes please don't let Kujo get hurt." I told him as he nodded quickly, giving me a smile.

"Alright, go seal the cave or whatever." He said, waving me off as I turned towards Bertha and followed her into the cave, which was now only foot deep with the black gas.

Halfway through the path to where we had our meal, Bertha spoke up.

"What do you think awaits us in the cave?" She asked me as I put my hands on my pockets, trying to calm some of the nerves that were getting to me.

"I don't know. All I know is there's a pool I have to submerge myself in, and that it may be guarded by something." I said with a groan as we waded through the smoke (Which didnt seem toxic, considering I ended up breathing a bunch of it already with no side effects.) "I wish D would've been more specific."

"D?" She asked, eyebrow raised at the odd name while she kept her eyes straight ahead.

"Yeah, it was the I.D of the guy who called me. Don't know his real name though." I said as we arrived in the room that connected to the room with the tunnel in it...though there was a wall of black smoke in the tunnel we had to go through.

Taking a deep breath, I walked up to the wall of smoke and put my hand through it.

"Mitch, wait!" Bertha called out a bit late as I pulled my hand from the wall with no pain or irritation.

"It's harmless, meaning we can go through it." I told her as she walked up to the wall of smoke and looked down at me.

"I don't like this. We're unarmed and there is possibly something waiting for us in there." She states, worry laced in her tone while she clenched her fists.

"You don't have to go in. I'm the one who has to find that pool." I told her, but she shook her head.

"No. I said I would assist you here, and Bertha doesn't go back on her word...ever." She said with the force of a hurricane as I smiled.

"Together, then?" I asked, and faced the wall after receiving a nod of confirmation from her.

"One...Two...Three!!!"

We rushed into the black smoke, though this time I did hold my breath due to how much smoke was in the small space. There was a little bit of resistance from the smoke but with a bit of effort we were able to wade through it to the other side.

"GAAAH!" I exclaimed, taking a deep breath of fresh air as I pulled myself through the smoke and into the room where we had been mining before. Moments after me Bertha followed, though she simply put a finger up to her nose and fired out smoke from it like a snot rocket.

Looking around, the only things I could see in the room were the gems we had left behind, three pickaxes, and...

Oh God.

There was a busted up skeleton propped up on the wall with a huge dog-shaped imprint right behind it, as if it had gotten. crushed up against the wall. Based on the large skeleton size it had to be one of the guard dogs.

Bertha noticed the skeleton and walked over to it, inspecting the body thoroughly before turning to me with a look of concern etched into her eyes.

"Mitch, this happened very recently." She said as the room began to shake, causing us to turn and face the cavern entrance marked with runes.

This time, though, they were glowing white instead of being faded...though a couple had some blood splatters on them.

"More intruders?" A voice spoke up, sounding like it was coming from the wall itself. "Though...I believe one of you is the one who opened my gate."

I stepped forward while Bertha grabbed two pickaxes from behind me, arming herself for a fight if one would arise.

"I am that person." I said sharply, hoping to find a way through this without conflict, knowing damn well I ain't capable of a fight right now. "I was told to come here for the opportunity for a magic core?"

The voice made a "hmm" sound. "You have no core...just like the dog before that begged for my blessing." He stated as I nodded, liking where this was going so far as I continued to reason with...whatever this was.

"Exactly. That is why I am here, though I brought a friend with me because of the smoke. We didn't know what was in it, and were being cautious."

"As one should be in such circumstances...but what makes you different from the dog I have in my clutches? He wished for my blessing, but it was a wish born from dark intentions and he was overtaken by the darkness." The voice said as raised my hands up with a sigh.

"The most I can offer you is my word. I have no intentions to hurt others with the core you can give me." I informed the voice, though it slowly was feeling more and more like a waste of oxygen as the conversation continued.

"Then you shall have no issue overcoming the test, then?" He stated, catching me and Bertha off guard as the wall of smoke to our left suddenly hardened, becoming stone instantly.

"We're locked in!" Bertha exclaimed as she turned back to the wall with the runes. "What test do you speak of?!"

"It is known as the test of Will. Break down the obstacle in front of you...or end up like the pathetic guard dog behind you." It instructed us, making me turn back to the skeleton and the imprint in the wall, my mind going into overdrive as I connected the dots.

Broken skeleton, imprint in the wall, and a task to destroy the obstacle in front of us...Shit! I mentally exclaimed as the wall in front of us began to glow, the runes forming a circle before disappearing in a flash of light, leaving a horrid abomination in its place.

There was a large skeleton head that looked like that of some lizard, about the size of Zephyr, poking out from the wall. Alongside it were two claws on both sides of it that were about a foot smaller than the head, though they looked sharp as knives.

My phone buzzed immediately, making me instinctively go for it (Hey, I'm was college student, what do you expect?) and pull it out, noticing the two apps on it in greater detail than before when I shrugged them off.

One was a calling app, self-explanatory in its use. But the other was a magnifying glass, and when I clicked it the words 'align on target' appeared and the from camera turned on.

"What are you doing?" Bertha exclaimed as she watched me line the camera up with the wall, getting a soft ping from the phone as it began to vibrate.

Target locked: Demon Wall. The phone chirped in the same female voice I had heard on the phone earlier with D, suprising me as I looked up at the wall.

Demon wall? what the fuck did I get myself into? I thought as the phone continued.

Capable of crushing its opponents in the little space they have, the only weakness this beast has is its slow movement...though it makes up for it with its acid shooting ability and its tough body.

"Acid?" Bertha yelled just as the gaping jaws of the skeleton head on the wall spat a ball lf the stuff straight at her, barely missing her as she quickly jolted her body to the right to dodge it.

The acid kept going and hit the dog bones behind us, frying them almost instantly as it reduced them to liquid ash.

That explains that dog from the cave and his rotting skin. I realized as Bertha passed me a pickaxe, which I barely managed to grab with one hand as I stashed the phone back on my pocket.

"Mitch, we're going to have to break down the wall!" She ordered just as the wall began to start slowly moving forward, threatening to crush us like a grape if we didn't act fast. She moved forward quickly, swinging her pickaxe into the side of the wall, inches from the left claw.

With a loud thunk that sounded oddly like a minecraft sound effect, bits of the wall gave way. However, the Demon Wall didn't even flinch as it kept coming, causing Bertha to back up quickly to line up another swing.

Ducking out of the way of an acid blast, I followed Berthas lead and swung my weapon right in the dead center of the wall...

Before almost throwing my pickaxe down in exasperation as I barely made a chink in the wall and it's tough body.

What I realized too late was I had gotten reckless by approaching so closely to the wall, and didn't see the mouth of the Demon Wall opening until it was too late, and in the blink of an eye, my entire right arm was drenched in the acidic vile that the Demon Wall spat up.

I let out a scream of pure agony as I fell to one knee before getting yanked out of the way of the right claws swing by Bertha.

"Mitch, are you ok?" She asked me, her eyes wandering between my eyes and the burning arm as I scooted back to the wall where the dog skeleton had been.

"Dont-Damn!-Worry about me. You need to destroy the wall. I'll watch fro-SHIT!-from here and direct-Agh!- your swings at weaker spots." I told her as she frowned but nodded, grabbing my pickaxe and turning to face the wall.

I took a deep breath, wiping away tears from my eyes as I studied the wall carefully while Bertha made sure to not stand directly in front of me, lest a acid blast hit me again.

It will take too long to destroy the whole wall with what we have available, though perhaps if she takes out the head... I thought as I suddenly stopped feeling anything in my right arm but didn't dare looked down at it.

"Bertha!" I called out to her as she swung both axes at the left claw, shattering it instantly but narrowly dodging another blast of acid. She kept her eyes on the wall as it kept approaching, now more than halfway across, but nodded her head to show she was listening. "Try to take out the head! Maybe we can kill it rather than taking out the whole wall!"

She waved the left pickaxe in confirmation as she rushed forward, dodging right just as another acid blast fired at her.

"Enough of that putrid vomit, fiend!" She roared as the chucked the right pickaxe straight towards the acid. The pickaxe took the acid and, while being melted itself, shot into the head and effectively smashing it to bits.

As she cheered, she didn't see the remaining claw swing out towards her.

"Bertha, watch out!" I yelled, but was too late as the claw smacked into her abdomen, sending her flying backwards and slamming into the wall right next to me headfirst before slumping over, unconscious on contact with the floor.

"BERTHA!" I yelled, but she didn't respond, and the wall showed no sign of stopping.

This is it...my plan failed, and there's a kid outside whos mom is about to be crushed...because of me. I thought wearily as I slowly stood, favoring what was left of my right arm as I felt what little blood was left leave through the open wounds as I took a couple of staggering steps towards the ever approaching wall.

"HEY!" I yelled at the wall. "I know your in there, weird voice thing! Let the minotaur go! She doesn't deserve this...she was only trying to help me."

The wall continued as I backed up against the wall behind me, now merely feet away from being crushed as the wall began to close in with the right claw swinging. all as it came closer and closer to Bertha.

"LISTEN TO ME DAMN IT!" I yelled as I used my good hand to try and slow the the wall by pushing against it. "KILL ME, BUT SPARE HER!!!" I exclaimed as I shut my eyes and braced for impact.

...

Why am I not dead?

Opening my eyes, I noticed the wall had stopped closing in and was back on the far side of the room, the entranceway I had opened up was shining white and stood out among the dirty cave as it looked brand stinking new.

"You passed the test." The voice called out as one of the runes that were glowing had a ball of light pop out of it as it fell to the ground in a flash of light.

When the light faded, there was what looked like a pony standing there, though I could see through the little guy.

He stood about a couple inches short of Zephyr, and his mane was shaved like a buzzcut while a horn stood tall among the small sea of hair. He was wearing armour that looked like it was a foot thick and had a lot of muscle for the short pony he was.

Noticing my gawking, he smirked. "Surprised I'm a pony?" He asked as I nodded, feeling slightly faint as he laughed. "Dont be! I used to possess great power long ago, and created the test you passed just now."

Frowning as I was having trouble focusing my eyes on him, I stumbled forward slightly. "What...but I didn't destroy the wall?"

He waved me off, smiling softly as he went to answer my statement. "Perhaps not, but the test of Will was never about defeating the Demon Wall, it was about learning what drives your actions...what was your will, and how far it would push you." He accented by pushing my chest slightly, though he caught me from falling over with his magic horn thing, tilting his head slightly as he looked me over. "But for now, we might want to get you to the pool. You need that magic core more than ever."

Next thing I knew, I was being levitated in the air and being lowered into what felt like jello as I was having a hard time paying attention to the pony, let alone think...though I did catch a bit of what he was saying before all went black.

"One day, I hope you can forgive me for doing this...but with your condition I have no choice"

Author's Note

Holy crap that was a lot to unload. For those who asked for action, there's a shit ton for ya.

Yeah, so things escalated quickly...yet at the same time I think I could've done more this chapter. Regardless, I'm happy with it, and hope yall are too!

Will Mitch survive? Will Bertha get back to her kid? What happened to Kogan? And does anyone of the viewers even care about Zephyr? All this and more to come! See yall then!

p.s: like always, any comments or criticism is greatly appreciated!

Chapter 4: Core beliefs

Outside the Cave<<<<<<

"Your a weird pony." Kujo said, tilting his head at the pony in front of him as he reclined on the bag his mother had sat him down on before following that weird hairless monkey guy into the cave.

"Weird? How am I weird?" Zephyr questioned, frowning at the minotaur child as he held back a snide remark about the kid and his own barf-colored fur. If it weren't for the fact the kid had a mother that could rip him in two, he would've considered flying off by now. He HAD the cold weather gear to survive it, but in the end it would be Berthas rage he would have to contend with for leaving the kid behind...and that's something Zephyr would rather not have to face anytime soon.

"You have a cows mane, but you have a bulls voice." Kujo answered, attempting to poke Zephyrs beehive of a hairstyle before getting his hand swatted by a wing.

"It's a condition. Your just jealous because you dont have my stylish looks." Zephyr retorted back as he couldn't help but hear something in the distance as his ears turned westward.

Was that...howling?

Apparently, Kujo noticed it too, because the kid had already moved behind him, shaking slightly next to Zephyr as he huddled next to his rear legs.

"Cow-ish pony, what was that noise?" He asked as Zephyr looked down the mountain path, only to see a cloud of snow dust being kicked up by whatever was coming towards them.

"I'm not sure, but your mom and Mitch better hurry up in there." Zephyr stated, a hitch of fear in his voice as he looked to the cave entrance with worry. "Whatever that dust is hiding is coming quick."

Back in the cave/Mitch POV<<<<<<

I awoke with a jolt, sitting upright as memories of what had happened earlier flooded my mind.

The wall...Bertha...that pony...where the hell am I? I thought to myself as I looked around, noticing nothing but the luminescent yet reflective water I was sitting on and the pitch black surroundings around me that seemed to stretch on for miles on end.

"Is this... the pool I was supposed to find?" I asked aloud as I heard footsteps approach from behind me.

Wait...footsteps? But I'm the only-

Turning quickly, there was nothing there but my reflection in the water.

This better not be some horror movie shit, or I am drowning myself in this water, no matter how shallow it is.

After looking around for a couple minutes, but not finding anyone else, I managed to calm down before noticing I had a reflection in the water.

Heh, looking good.

Squatting down, I placed my right hand on the reflective surface as my mirror self did the same.

Thats weird...the water is kind of sticky, almost like a spiders web. The light its giving off is kind of cool though. I thought to myself, my thoughts piercing the silence as I let out an apprehensive small chuckle at the absolutely terrifying yet oddly amusing situation I was in.

Hold on...I didn't laugh.

Looking down at my reflection, I noticed it was staring back up at me with a wider smile than what I had on my face.

"Huh?" I couldn't help but state as I felt my right hand get pulled into the reflective water. "Shit!"

Planting my feet, I began to pull against whatever force was pulling me under, though as soon as I made eye contact with my reflection, my worries only tripled.

Staring back at me as a smiling version of me, though unlike me he had blonde hair and lettuce green eyes in contrast to my ginger hair and hazelnut brown eyes. My reflection let out the same chuckle I had heard moments ago before some of the reflective liquid began to encase my right arm, causing me to panic and tug harder against the water.

"Relax...your in no danger." A voice spoke up, causing me to stop struggling and looked down at my reflection in suprise as he seemed to be speaking, though the voice seemed to echo off the surrounding area rather than come from him. "Your arm was badly damaged and needs to be healed, let the dew do its job."

Noticing the tugging on my hand was gone, I pulled it out of the water as it too became encased in the weirdly clingy water.

"What is this stuff?" I asked as my reflection, causing it to shake its head.

"The pony you met earlier will explain all you need to know." He stated as the water slowly phazed into some sort of blue crystal casing around my arm and hand, layered where my skin would be but stopping just short at my shoulder blade.

"Daaamn. What the hell?" I exclaimed, flexing my new arm around and squeezing my hand shut multiple times. Everything seemed to be working fine and I felt no pain from flexing the arm, but the shock of having a limb of mine was almost overwhelming as my breath was slowly speeding up.

I need to calm down, theres no use freaking out right now. I still have an arm, and thats whats important.

After taking a couple minutes to slow down my breathing, I was able to stop myself from hyperventilating. I turned back to my reflection, only to find it had disappeared, leaving me alone in the waters for a moment before I heard hoofsteps approach from behind me, causing me to turn quickly, this time only to be met with a familiar face.

"Ah, so the healing process has begun. Good."The pony from before told me as he walked up to me and began looking over my arm. "Yes, yes. It seems you'll be just fine." He said, though his voice no longer echoed around the room.

"What do you mean healing process?" I asked as the pony chuckled.

"You do remember the scuffle you got into with the Demon Wall, right?" He stated, making my eyes widen as I glanced at my crystal arm, remembering the acid that had hit my arm in the fight.

"So, your telling me that my right arm...melted?!" I exclaimed in shock, the panic from before coming back as the pony rose on his hind legs and placed both forelegs on my shoulders.

"Mitch...calm down." He said softly, making sure to never break contact as he spoke. "Your completely fine. The dew of Duisternis is more than capable of healing your wounds from before."

"Duisternis?" I questioned, slowly calming down as the pony dropped back to a standing position and smiled.

"Before we get into that, some introductions are in order." He tapped his chest proudly. "My name is Tangerine, and this area you find yourself in is called Duisternis, or the realm of nightmares for long terms sake."

"Land of nightmares?" That didn't sound right. "Why the hell am I getting ANYTHING from a place like this?" I asked him as he sighed turning away from me.

"For those who are born without a destiny or believe their own isn't as grand as they thought it would be, they seek to make their own or... force their own will upon fate." He shook his head. "But, in the wake of doing so they cast a shadow that gets reflected here, and becomes something more." He chuckled softly. "Duisternis is a forsaken place, a place where the universe hides our inner demons and mistakes from the sight and mind of others."

Rubbing my chin in thought, I looked around the darkened place I was in while Tangerines words rung loudly through my head.

So, people who crave power or simply want their lives to have meaning are affected by this world? And the shadow they cast becomes something else? But how?

"What do you mean by that last bit? With the shadows?" I asked him as he turned back to me with a sad smile on his face.

"Well, there two types of shadows. The weaker ones become simple replicas of their hosts, staying here and watching their hosts live out their lives, while the stronger ones are said to be able to latch onto their hosts and be capable of overpowering them...we classify those as Nightmares" He informed me as he looked down at the water around my feet. "And considering your reflection is gone...your situation is of the latter variety."

"So, is this...Nightmare going to be an issue?" I asked him warily as he shook his head, giving me a calming smile.

"No, not as long as you can properly build your power on your journey." He said before tapping my crystal arm. "The dew from the water we stand on is now coursing through your bloodstream. The area where your heart would reside should now have a magic shell around it, and that will be proof of you having a magic core." He finished as he turned away from me and began walking away. "As long as you keep control of that shadow that resides in that core of yours, then you shouldn't have much to worry about."

I went to follow him, but couldn't move due to the water I was in holding my feet in place.

"Wait! I have more questions!" I yelled out to him as he simply erupted in light, blinding my vision entirely as it began to feel like the whole world was shaking.

"Mitch! Mitch, are you ok?"

Slowly opening my eyes, I found Bertha looming over me, shaking me slightly as she looked down at me.

"Hey, your ok!" I exclaimed happily as she smiled at me...before frowning and punching me in the right arm.

THUNK!

We both turned to look at the cause of the sound, only to see my right arm and hand was still covered in crystal.

Seems like thats permanent...though all of this just keeps seeming more and more like a fever dream as the crazy train keeps pumping.

"Why is your arm made of crystal?" Bertha asked me as I sat up and moved it around.

"That pool I was supposed to get in gave me it. Apparently it's a side effect of me getting a magic core." I told her, causing Bertha to shake her head with a laugh.

"You are one weird bull, Mitch." She said before standing up. "Whatever pool you were at is gone though, so I hope you got your core."

Looking around, there was indeed no water around me. The only thing left in the dark and slightly narrow passageway (Bertha was squatting down to almost the height of Zephyr at this point) was what had to be Berthas pickaxe and...

"So, Kogan did die." I said solemnly as I got up and crouch-walked over to a skeleton that had a staff impaled through its left leg. Looking closely at the staff, I noticed a couple of words carved into it.

"Bertha, look at this." I told her, pulling the staff from its resting place and showing it to her, causing her to dquint as she looked the staff over.

"Hmm...here lies the body of one who was absorbed by the lust for power." She read off before shaking her head and turning to me. "It's time we left this place."

Nodding in agreement. I followed her out of the small cavern as we found ourselves back in the room where the Demon Wall had resided, only now it looked like a normal cave instead of all that black smoke from before.

"And to think we almost died here." I thought aloud as Bertha glared at me, causing me to wince. "Too soon?"

"Very. Come, let us leave this cave behind for good." She said, moving to continue walking before she winced and held her stomach.

"Bertha! Are you ok?" I exclaimed as I ran up to her, noticing a couple of deep scratch wounds lining her abdomen.

"Bertha will be fine." She grunted out as she went to move but winced again, this time falling on one knee. "It's but a scratch."

Place your new hand on her stomach.

"Bertha, let me see the cuts." I asked her as she moved her hand away with some grumble about this whole situation being bad for an Alpha, though she frowned when I placed the crystal hand on the wound.

"What are you doing!?" She hissed, but I didn't acknowledge her.

Now, in your mind, think about what you want to do, and your magic core should reciprocate the thought, making it a reality.

Picturing what her stomach looked like before the fight, I felt what could best be described as taking a piss while my hand began to glow.

After a moment the light disappeared and I fell backwards, suddenly exhausted from whatever I did.

"Mitch...how did you do that?" I heard Bertha ask, looking down at me while running her hand over the now clear stomach. No wounds, no blood.

"Dunno...must be whatever magic I got coursing through me now." I told her, making her chuckle as she rubbed her stomach slightly.

"Well, it looks like our hard work wasn't in vain then. You got a crystal arm and you can heal wounds? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me." She turned towards the cave exit as she inhaled deeply before letting it out softly. "Let's get out of this dark prision, shall we?"

I nodded and started to follow her out, albeit slowly due to the exhaustion still plaguing my body. "Alright, lead the way." I said as we made our way through the dark tunnel leading out.

"Ya know." Bertha spoke up as we turned the corner and went down the last tunnel. "I wonder how Breeze and Kujo are doing?"

"Well, at least Zephyr and Kujo didn't have to deal with that Demon Wall. Them being outside was far safer than them being with us." I told her as she laughed.

"Zephyr would've fainted on the spot if he had seen the beast we slayed!" She happily exclaimed before her mood sobered quickly as she looked at the ground. "But Kujo..."

I placed my hand on her left arm, causing her to look back at me as I flashed her a warm smile.

"That's why we left him outside. He's ok, your ok, and I'm ok. We passed the test, and everyone is safe." I told her as she gave me a toothy grin and stood tall as we approached the mouth of the cave.

"Your right! No use talking about what ifs, when everything is...just....fine." She trailed off as we stood at the exit of the cave in shock.

The good news? Zephyr and Kujo were waiting for us unharmed.

Bad news? Zephyr was attempting to talk down what looked like two more Diamond dogs while keeping Kujo behind him, the poor kid was cowering as he looked at the dogs from behind Zephyr.

"Hey!" I yelled out, walking towards them as Kujo ran over to his mother.

"Mama! Those dogs were scaring me!" He exclaimed, burying his face into his moms neck as she gave the dogs a fierce glare.

"Is this true?" Bertha questioned with venom in her tone as the dogs turned to us and one of them stepped forward.

The one that stepped forward was wearing armour that had a blue tint to it. It stood at what had to be almost seven feet tall as it almost matched Bertha in height. And with a careful look at its face reminded me of the snow-white breed of the huskies back home.

Hell, looking at the other dog I could see he also was a husky. The only difference was the one behind the tall dog had scorched fur as if it had been set on fire.

The dog turned to Bertha and raised her right paw.

"Greetings, I am Captain Piper of the North Wind. We were told to investigate this area due to a magic spike nearby." She looked down at me for a second before eyeing my crystal arm. "Though it seems we won't have to search any farther, for our disturbance is right here."

Bertha growled. "Then why are you harassing my child if your looking into a magic disturbance?" She asked as the Captain raised an eyebrow at the minotaur.

"We did no such thing. All we did was talk to the pegasus male about what he knew about the surge." She said as Zephyr smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, some of that may be my bad. I'm not really good with kids, Bertha, So I didn't know how to calm him down when the dogs showed up." He told her, earning a groan from the minotaur as I frowned at Piper.

"Well, that's all well and good, but that 'magic surge' yall are looking for was caused by some of your own kind messing with crap they don't understand." I told her as she gave me a wry smile.

"And you do, bearer of the crystal core?" She asked, causing me to flinch slightly as she laughed. "Relax, no one but the Grandmaster knows about that level of magic, and that reminds me of the other reason we were sent here."

She turned around and beckoned the black furred dog to come over to her. As he walked up Piper turned back to us while Zephyr walked over to Berthas right side.

"This is my brother and First lieutenant of the North Wind, Reks." She motioned to the other dog, who although was a bit shorter than me, looked like he packed more muscle than Bertha, for his armour seemed to be barely able to contain his body.

The dog nodded a hello and pulled a scroll out from inside his armour and gave it to Piper.

"Don't mind him, he doesn't like talking." She said before opening the scroll and clearing her throat. "A-HEM! Commanders of the North Wind, your mission is to look into a renegade pack of dogs that has moved in to the East of the Crystal kingdom. They are believed to be a trafficking group that may be responsible for the disappearances of several species around the Yaket Range." She closed the scroll and handed it back to Reks, who out it up immediately. "For short, we're your rescue party...your welcome."

"Rescue party?" Zephyr scoffed. "Why should we trust you after how those other dogs treated us?" He stated as Bertha nodded, bouncing slightly as she tried to rock her kid to sleep.

"Breeze makes a good point, Captain. What if you are merely reinforcements that Kogan and his cronies called for?"

Piper sighed before looking towards me. "Normally, there would be no way to prove this to you, but your unusual friend here obtained a magic core from this cave, didn't he?" She asked, making me grin my teeth as she called me out.

How would they know about that? I thought, shivering from the cold as Bertha kept her harsh gaze on the dog.

"So what if he did? What's so special about this cave?" She asked Piper as the Captain winked.

"That's a trade secret with the North Wind, but I have a proposal for you three." She said as she turned and pointed at some sort of castle in the distance. "The North Wind resides in a cave system beneath the pony capitol of this land. Follow us there, and we will tell you anything you need to know." She said as I looked in between her and the castle she pointed at.

Wait...a pony capitol? That had to be the Empire Zephyr was talking about! I thought as Zephry let out a laugh.

"You expect us to just go underground with you guys?! I JUST escaped from an underground prison, and I have no intentions of going back down anytime soon."

"Agreed. Besides, I need to head Eastwards to get back to Trottingham." Bertha says as she nods to her now sleeping child. "I need to get this kid home to the herd before they start to worry."

If Piper was affected by their refusals, she didn't show it as she turned to me. "And what about you?"

Looking from the dogs to my friends I had made in my short time here, I couldn't help but wonder about what I was supposed to do here.

Do I attempt to try my luck with the pony princess, or do I go with these dogs and potentially get more answers about my new magic core?

Coming to a decision, I turned to my friends.

"Guys, I have to go with them." I told them, causing Zephyr to nearly face-plant in shock.

"What?! You can't be serious, man! Their DIAMOND DOGS!!!" He exclaimed while Bertha put a hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.

"This is about that core, isn't it?" She asked me as I nodded. "Very well. If you ever find yourself near Trottingham, ask around for Big Blades Blacksmith. That's where I work and live, and you should find me there most of the time." She let go of my shoulder and smiled down at me. "Be careful, Mitch."

She turned to Piper and pointed at the captain before giving her a deadly smile.

"I better not find out you were lying, dog. Or else your fur will be used as a carpet for my lviing room." She stated as she reached into her bra and pulled out some sort of small crystal before throwing it to the ground. "To Trottingham." She said quietly before throwing it down, causing a flash of light to erupt around her before it disappeared, along with her as well.

Zephyr and I looked at where she was standing in shock as I ran a hand through my hair, trying to comprehend what I just saw.

Did she...just teleport? Could she had done that this WHOLE TIME?!

Before I could think more on the subject, Piper and Reks walked over to us.

"I feel like I should know that minotaur from somewhere...oh well." She clapped her paws together as she looked between us. "Well, shall we get going?"

Zephyr shook his head, but before he could speak Piper cut him off.

"And relax, pony. We'll drop you off at the pony town before we head underground." She said before turning around and walking off. "Follow me, boys!"

Zephyr looked up at me with a pleading gaze.

"Dude, please don't tell me we're about to follow that crazy dog down this mountain?" He asked me as I shrugged, watching Reks follow close behind his sister.

"Um...yeah. Besides, I'd rather not freeze in this weather." I said, grabbing the blanket Kujo left behind and wrapping it around myself while Zephyr grabbed his bag and we began to follow the two guard dogs down the Yaket mountain range.

Besides, I literally just fought a Demon Wall. What could be worse than that?

Author's Note

Hey! Look at that, story progress! And is that Mitch with a new crystal arm?

Seriously though, I haven't brainstormed that much on the idea of something like Duisternis for a while...and half of what makes Duisternis tick hasn't even been revealed yet!

As always, any comments and Grammer corrections are greatly appreciated! Also, thanks for the well received love for the story so far! It really does mean a lot to me!

Chapter 5: Camping with man's best friend

Mitch POV<<<<<<

Have you ever seen those movies where people scale mountains and it seems like they did it with no sweat and little effort?

Yeah, those movies are utter bullshit. We were about an hour into hiking down the mountain range and Piper had, thank goodness, noticed how bad I was shivering and called for us to set up camp on a small flat area next to a slightly wooded area. She sent Zephyr and Reks to find some wood while I stayed back and watched her begin to light up some twigs we found nearby.

"So, what exactly is the North Wind?" I asked the currently squatting Piper as she pulled out two rocks and smashed them together over a small stack of wood, making the cold timber catch fire and slowly begin to burn over time.

"That's a...complicated question." She answered as she sat down on a patch of rubble she had cleared snow from. "But in a simple term we are our tribe leaders core military unit, his elite guard per say."

"So, like his secret service?" I stated, wondering who their tribe leader was and, more importantly, what he looked like.

Is he a husky too? Or will he be a different breed? I thought, shivering slightly as I clung to the soft blanket as a cold breeze chilled my bones.

"What is a secret service?" She asked me before shaking her head. "Nevermind that, the main idea is that the North Wind is comprised of the most highly trained and trusted dogs the tribe chief knows."

Looking into the small flame we had lit, I couldn't help but rub my crystal arm, the cool touch of the gemstone chilling my fingers as I thought over everything that had happened to me.

Well, I made a deal with a random magic man, somehow managed to both lose AND gain an arm, and now I'm being escorted to an underground society by some armour wearing dogs on a snowy mountain...Damn, my life has gotten weird. I thought to myself, glancing up at the now night sky, though I could've swore the sun was up a minute ago.

It couldnt lowered that fast, right?

Shaking off that thought, I sat down next to Piper and found two azure eyes staring back at me.

"Um...what?" I said nervously as Pipers gaze went from the bit of my arm poking out of the blanket to my face repeatedly.

"Why did it choose you?" She asked plainly, catching me off guard.

"Excuse me?"

She leaned in close, her face inches from mine as I could feel her hot breath tickle my nose.

"The pool in the cave we found you in, that arm is a result of getting Duisternis' blessing...but why you?" She stated as I shrugged, leaning away from her as I looked towards the flames.

"Your asking the wrong person, Captain. I don't even really know why I'M here, let alone having this magic core thing." I chuckled softly, waving my crystaI arm around as I talked. "But, I need it to find my way back home...at least, if there is a way home." I said, my voice lower than a whisper as Piper gasped slightly

"You...were seperated from your family?" She asked me as I nodded, refusing to turn my gaze away from the fire.

"Made a deal without thinking, and was magically sent into that cave you found us in...but, to be honest, I'm not sure how long I've been here." I said weakly, the realization of me possibly had being here for longer than I thought quite scary and made my heart skip a beat.

How much time has passed. Ive blacked out twice so far, and each time coukdve been from minutes to hours! What if it's been days?!

Piper looked into the crackling flames as a rumbling sigh left her throat, followed by minutes of an almost eerie silence before she spoke up again.

"We were seperated too..." She said quietly, so much so that I almost missed it entirely.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, wondering where she was going with this.

"Several years ago, Reks and I weren't even soldiers. We worked in a gold mine in the southeast.." She chuckled softly, but it felt hollow on the ears as she continued her tale. "One day, a dragon came to our family mine. He stated that a pony had scared him away from his gold horde back in Equestria, and he was going to take whatever we had to replace it." She shuddered slightly, rubbing her palms together over the fire. "Pa tried his best to distract the dragon while Ma hid my brother and I in a small box, but in the end no dog can stand to the might of those demonic lizards, and our parents..." She took a deep breath, clenching her paws as she growled slightly. "Just because your in a box doesnt mean you cant hear whats happening outside of it, and what I heard that night has haunted me for all these years."

Sighing again, she said nothing else and simply sat there motionless while I struggled to find something to say.

What do I even say to that? And why the hell did she bring that up now?

"W-Why are you telling me this? I barely even know you and your brother, and you just come out and tell me your parents died?" I pointed out as she turned to me, her eyes holding the same empty look as any dog from home.

Only here, it wasn't due to having small beady eyes that don't convey much emotion...here it was as if the life that her eyes could show was dimmed out long ago.

"Because you have the choice we don't. You CAN go back to your home and those you love, you just have to use that core, right?" She pointed out as she put her paws closer to the fire.

"Yeah...I guess." I said, looking into the fire as the conversation died off and my thoughts drifted back home.

What was my family thinking right now? I was supposed to be in Cincinnati by now arriving at their house...but thats not happening anytime soon. Hell, what if they think I'm dead? I looked into the fire, a sad smile on my face as a single tear burned my right cheek.

Is Samantha doing alright? Did that D guy actually help her?

Zephyr POV<<<<<<

"Ugh, You'd think being in a forest would make wood gathering easier." I scoffed as I picked up the third twig I had found after almost an hour of searching.

Why Mitch decided for me to go and get firewood is beyond me. A pony would think that something that looks like a primate wouldn't find foraging in the forest, but nooooooo. Let the pegasus do it!

Hearing a grunt from behind me, I turned around just to see the big dog (I think is name was Reks) had managed to get several logs more than me and held them on his shoulders.

"How? We've been on the same path this whole time! There weren't any logs sitting around!" I exclaimed as he pointed behind him at a couple of smaller trees that looked chopped up and diced into smaller pieces. "Oh, like thats fair. Your able to chop down trees while I settle for grabbing twigs of the ground."

The dog rolled his eyes and turned around, walking the way back to the camp.

"Bucking Showoff." I muttered to myself, shuddering slightly as I walked after him, tucking the twigs I found under my right wing as I followed behind the dog as we walked by the stumps Reks had cut...which looked eerily like a sharp weapon had chopped them in half.

Wait a second...howd he chop the trees down without an axe or blade? I thought in shock as I noticed he had no weapons or tools on him. Unless hes hiding it...which might only makes the situation worse for me and Mitch.

Thankfully, after a fair bit of walking, we mafe it back to the camp...though Mitch seemed to be laughing up a storm with the Captain when we arrived.

"Your telling me, that your tribe leader let a loud one rip during a meeting, and didn't care?" He exclaimed, laughing so hard he was holding his sides while Piper wasn't faring much better, her own wheezing laugh coming out in droves as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"He really did! It drove the other three chiefs mad!" The Captain wheezed out while Reks placed the wood in a pile near the fire. "So, the wood hunting went well?"

Reks simply grunted and pointed at the twigs in my wing and to his before letting out a quiet wheeze as he sat down across from Captain Piper, giving me a squinted stare as my left eye twitched.

He did NOT just make fun of me...He did! That stupid Mutt thinks he can just get one over me and laugh about it!

I dropped the twigs in the fire and gave Mitch a curt glare.

"Can I talk to you, Mitch? In private?" I said, turning and walking away from the fire as he stood with a groan and followed me until we were well away from the campfire.

"What is it, Zephyr? It's cold and I'd rather be by the fire right now." Mitch stated, swaddling himself in the blanket he had as I pointed a wing at Reks.

"Listen, somethings not right about that dog. All that wood he collected? He did it without any tools, and the wood was cut perfectly from the stumps!" I explained as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So what? Reks is massive, perhaps even more muscular than Bertha...AND he's a soldier, so the guy obviously would has some precision in his strikes." He said as I shook my head.

"We don't even know if their story is true, Mitch! They could be lying about helping us and were originally after that core of yours! How else do you explain them knowing about it?"

Mitch stared at me for a long moment, simply not moving as he seemed to zone out.

"Uh...Mitch?" I asked him, slightly agitated at him not paying attention as he shook his head.

Sorry, I was thinking about some things." He glanced at Piper and Reks briefly before returning his gaze to me. "Could you repeat whatever you just said?"

"I said that the dogs could be lying about their reasons for escorting us! What if we get captured again!" I restated as Mitch rubbed his chin slightly, the blanket he was holding drooping slightly at the motion.

"Honestly, you could be right. Piper went on about this sob story with their parents earlier when I mentioned my home, and it just felt...weird." He shook his head, beginning to step in place as he continued. "Then again, it's far too cold right now to worry about that. Let's just get to the empire, then we can ditch them there if they try something, how's that sound?"

Well, at least the guy isn't flat out trusting them. And with two of us we will have a better chance at escaping if the dogs do turn on us.

"Sounds like a plan then. Though I'm still not going anywhere near their pack if they happen to be telling the truth." I stated, shuddering slightly as I recalled the chains from before mixed with the dark cavern I had been forced to work in. Now that wasn't an experience I planned on reliving. "Though, if Piper brought up such a sad story, why were you guys laughing when we got back?"

Mitch smiled down at me, his mood seeming to brighten. "Well, after she brought up her parents 'deaths' I decided to try and lighten the mood by telling her about a friend of mine back home." He explained. "He was a heavy eater, and was prone to embarrassing us in public by...releasing gas loudly."

"Really? I leave you alone with a female for about ten minutes and you reduce conversation to simply fart gags?" I deadpanned as he shrugged.

"I mean, she liked it, and I got a story it of her too involving her boss." He said before turning around and walking towards the fire. "Cmon, last thing we need is them being suspicious of us talking in the dark for so long."

Following Mitch back to the fire, I took a seat next to him while he sat in the four hoof space between the dogs. Reks seemed to be watching Mitch carefully while Piper gave me a sidelong glance.

"So, what was that about?" Piper asked as I flinched slightly.

Buck, we didn't think of a cover story! I thought in a panic as I stammered slightly, trying to come up with something believable.

"Breeze here was butt hurt about Reks being more of a man than he is, and needed someone to cry about it to." Mitch stated, causing said dog to wheeze loudly while I glared straight at Mitch, which only caused him to smile wider. "Ain't that right, Zephyr?"

I swear to by Lunas flanks I will murder this guy and hide the body.

"Yeah...right." I grumbled as Piper held a paw to her mouth, barely concealing her laughter as I covered my face with my hooves, absolutely done with today as a whole.

"I swear, all you stallions are the same." She said, making me look up at her in confusion.

"You say that like you have experience with us...have you dated a pony before?" I asked her as she crossed her arms, the Captain suddenly looking flustered for a military officer as her cheeks reddened slightly.

"I'm kinda...dating one." She said as Reks huffed, making Piper glare at him. "I am too! He visits the Empire twice a year, and we hang out then! Just because you havent seen him doesn't make him not real!"

Mitch snorts, not believing the story either. "What does this guy do for a living then?"

Piper turns to him, her glare being replaced by a dreamy smile. "He's a unicorn explorer who charts out the unknown, and he's so good with a sword too!" Her eyes light up as she walks over to Reks. "Let me show them the rapier he gave me."

Reks rolls his eyes as Piper plunges her hand into his chest plate, the armour separating like water as she pulls out a silver rapier with a golden handle.

Im sorry, what? I thought as my eyes widened to the size of dinner plate.

"Whoa what the fuck?!" Mitch yells as he gets to his feet, his eyes on Reks' chest plate. "How'd you do that?"

Piper turns to Mitch with a smile and points at Reks' chest. "You thought you were the only one with a magic core? Reks got one from the pool in the chiefs room, though his gives him the ability to bend metal to his will, making him a walking armory." She says as Reks grins broadly and flexes his right arm, the metal on it disappearing instantly and revealing more black fur on him, though the fur by his hand was as white as Pipers before he flexes his arm again, making the metal return.

Piper smiled big, showing off her sword to Mitch. "See! I told you I was right!"

Mitch looked between the blade in her hands and Reks for a couple seconds before shrugging. "That only proves two things: One, your brother has magic...and two, you own a fancy sword that was probably robbed from a pony instead of gifted to you."

Reks sighed and face-pawed while Piper growled at Mitch, her left paw tightening around the blade she held as her left eye twitched slightly.

"Excuse me?! I know you did not just accuse me of theft!" She exclaimed, getting Mitchs face. "I will not be accused of petty crimes by some random monkey with a crystal arm!" She looked she was about to say more, but huffed instead and turned away from us, sprawling out on the ground across from the fire with her back facing Mitch. "That's enough talk for tonight. You and the pegasus get some rest while Reks takes the first watch.

Mitch frowned at her for a second before turning to me.

Was it something I said? He mouthed as I rolled my eyes and nodded before walking over to my duffel and laying my head on it, making sure to face Reks where he was sitting.

Great, Mitch made Piper mad and Reks is actually a magic weilding diamond dog...what else could go wrong today? I thought as I went to close my eyes for the night.

Then the howling began.

Author's Note

Hey! Look! A wild chapter has appeared!

So, this got delayed due to college/laziness on my part. Don't worry, this week isn't going to be HALF as packed, so the next chapter should be longer and be more than just filler (though said filler is kinda necessary sometimes.)

Leave a comment below if ya want, or if ya notice a typo or three.

(p.s: I'm on the fence about the whole Zephyr POV. If it's good, I might do it again soon. If not, then I'll just do Mitch.)

P.P.S: There was originally another human that was revealed here, but I decided to pull him from the chapter and story for now, since the plot line he was following was scrapped for something better.

Chapter 6: A not so friendly midnight stroll

SORRY! Accidently unpublished this chapter for those of you who've already read it!

Mitch POV<<<<<<

I had just propped my head up against one of the logs Reks had brought back when a ear-piercing howl rang out through the mountain, causing Piper and her brother to sit up straight almost immediately.

"Winterwolves" Piper stated plainly as Zephyr turned to look at the captain, a wary look in his eyes as he squinted at her in the ever encasing night.

"What the heck is a winter wolf?" He asked before Reks put a finger to his mouth, shushing the pegasus while pointing out to the path they had returned from getting wood.

"Um...maybe them?" I whispered to myself, noticing what looked like several snow mounds slowly moving across the ground towards us, several pairs of glowing yellow eyes staring back at us.

"That's a Winter wolf alright. They're made of snow that has been tainted by dark magic." Piper explained as she sighed, looking back towards the empire with a frown. "Ever since the fall of that shadow monster at the empire, they've been a frequent threat in these mountains." Piper stated, slowly getting to her feet as she motioned for us to do the same. "Cmon! Slowly stand up, and grab your things."

Giving a short nod, I made my way up from my laying position, feeling a sharp cold breeze as I tied Zephyrs blanket around my waist like one would do with a hoodie.

Wont be able to run holding this...and I'd rather be cold than dead. I thought with a shudder as I saw Zephyr hook his duffel on his back with a strap and nod to Piper, signaling that he was ready.

"Alright, now begin to slowly back away from them...and DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK." Piper exclaimed, pointing at an almost fleeing Zephyr. "Resist those prey thoughts of yours and make yourself look bigger."

Taking a couple steps back, I stood ramrod stiff, my eyes never leaving the mounds as they slowly moved forward every time we took a step back.

Glancing to my right, I could see the armored plating on Reks' right arm morph into a single blade that ran a couple inches off his hand as another couple of wolf eyes popped up in the dark.

How many of these things are there?!

Just as I was about to say something, Zephyr let out a gasp as he pointed a wing at the space above the wolves.

"Guys...what's that?" He said, his tone riddled with fear as I saw what he was pointing at.

It was barely visible, but if you squinted your eyes enough you could see something big moving in the trees.

"Reks...grab one of the burning logs and throw it." Piper ordered, getting a nod from Reks as he took a step to the side and grabbed one of the firewood pieces with a metal coated hand before chunking it towards the wolves.

The flame didn't illuminate much, but it did manage to bounce off whatever was in the darkness, provoking a heavy growl from whatever was in there as it looked like the shadow of an entire hill was approaching us.

Wait, if Winterwolves are snow mounds, then a snow hill would be a... I thought in growing fear as I noticed we were slowly approaching a downhill slant with each step we took backwards.

"So, are we going to run yet? Because whatever that is looked huge." Zephyr whispered as Piper shook her head.

"Running will only start the hunt for them. As long as there's not Alpha dog in their pack then we are good." She said, grabbing the sword she had tightly as whatever giant mound of snow Reks had hit earlier finally walked into the fires small light.

It looked like a regular wolf, not counting the snow for fur and ice for fangs and claws...well, that and the fact it was taller than some of the trees nearby and looked ready to kill.

"Hoooooly shit." I exclaimed as Pipers eyes widened and she did a swift one-eighty turn.

"Change of plans, everyone. Run!" She exclaimed, zooming down the slope as we all followed suit, pushing through the snow as several more howls sounded off behind us.

Taking to the air, Zephyr began to get ahead of everyone as he flew past me.

"Mitch, Jump!" He yelled as he sped past, flying low to avoid any branches while planted my feet and jumped...

...just as I saw a pair of icy fangs gnaw at the spot my feet had been.

Shit, that was close!

Almost stumbling, I barely landing on my feet and sped back up while Reks and Piper managed to slice through it past a couple of wolves that had cut them off.

"Head into the forest!" Piper yelled as we approached the bottom of the hill. "If we can get to the cave on the other side we'll be safe!"

Picking up speed, I ran straight into the forest and caught up with the dogs while Breeze flew over us, pointing ahead at several moving snow mounds rapidly approaching.

"There's more of them!" He exclaimed as the mounds grew fangs and lunged at us.

"Scatter!" Piper yelled, sidestepping a wolf while I barely dove out of the way of another, slamming face-first into a tree.

Letting out a pained gasp at the blow, I somehow managed to stumble forward, making sure I didn't stop moving as I barely managed to dodge several other trees I could barely make out in the dark.

"Guys, wait!" I heard Zephyr call out before hearing a loud thunk of what had to be him colliding with a tree midair.

"Zephyr!" I called out, turning around just to be tackled by a moving snow mound, the blow slamming me into the ground as I attempted to keep its jaws from my neck.

The Winter Wolf growled deeply, his claws finding their way into my shoulders and making my left side explode in pain as I managed to get my right foot underneath its stomach.

"GET OFF!" I yelled, kicking it apart entirely as it turned into nothing but mush in my hands.

Standing quickly, I wiped my left shoulder only to feel blood trickling down my crystallized hand.

Great...do I heal this now or wait?" I frowned, remembering how exhausted I was after healing Bertha. If I became exhausted again and the wolves found me...

Another howl from my left brought be out of my thoughts as I remembered why I had stopped in the first place.

"Zephyr, I'm coming!" I whispered to myself, hoping to not draw attention as I crouch walked the way we came slowly, making sure to keep my eyes peeled on the darkness surrounding me.

Why did Piper and Reks have to run so far?! And how am I going to help Zephyr by myself?

"You could start with calming the fuck down."

Snapping out of my funk, I looked ahead just to see a illuminated figure standing a couple yards away from me, its golden hair flowing over its face as it stared at me.

"MITCH!"

"What the...who are you?" I stated as the figure sighed and used a crystallized hand to removed the hair from its face...

...only to reveal the fact that it was the reflection of me from the dark water, though his eyes were now purely white with no pupils at all.

"MITCH!"

But before I could even say anything else, he began to slowly stagger towards me with a twisted smile on his face.

"You really forgot about me already? Pity." He stated as he began to approach me, a twisted grin on his face as he clenched and unclenched his hands repeatedly. "But of course you did! After all, doesnt everyone want to forget their nightmares?"

"Stay back!!!" I yelled at his approaching figure as I grabbed a twig off the ground and pointed it at him. "I dont know how your here, but leave me alone!"

He stopped about three feet from me before bending over and touching the limb, causing it to wither away almost immediately, the ashes blowing away in the chill of the night.

"Oh, but I cant just leave you alone, Mitch. Your a part of me as I am a part of you." He stated with a laugh before his smile disappeared as he stared what sounded like a garbled voice from behind me, sighing as he shook his head. " Looks like our face to face will have to wait. Right now, you gotta wake up!"

"MITCH!"

My eyes shot open as I realized I was being pulled by Zephyr across the snow with his forehooves.

"Wha...What happened?" I asked as Zephyr turned to me with a relived smile.

"Oh thank Luna your alright! After you plowed into that tree back there we thought you'd be out for hours!" He motions his head to where the sounds of blade connecting on ice could be heard. "We came back as soon as you fell, but then the wolves swarmed us, so the dogs are buying us time to escape."

Grunting out a reply, I slowly got to my feet just as a wolf went to lunge at us before getting kicked into snow bits by Zephyr.

"We need to go...now" I said, still slightly out of it as I turned to the direction of the fighting and winced slightly, feeling slightly lightheaded from my run in with nature.

"Piper! Reks! I'm up, let's go!" I yelled as Zephyr and I continued our run through the woods, this time making sure to avoid any trees even at the cost of slowing down slightly.

"Keep going, we're almost there!" I heard Piper yell from behind us as I hopped over a big rock that came into view almost too fast for me to react to.

"How much further is-"

"THERE!" Zephyr exclaimed as we finally came across a torch-lit cave entrance.

"FIRE!" A loud voice rang out as two dogs stepped out from the cave, firing several flaming arrows towards us.

"Shit, get down!" I exclaimed, dropping on my stomach alongside Zephyr, making him drop his duffel bag in shock as the arrows flew past us...

...and straight into the jaws of a couple of wolves that had managed to catch up to us, melting them instantly and saving us from their freezing fangs.

"Get up, you two!" Piper yelled as she and Reks bolted past, the captain throwing a quick salute to one of the dogs as she and Reks made it to the cave.

Getting on my feet, I grabbed Zephyrs bag and bolted towards the cave alongside the now flying Zephyr as I heard what sounded like a tree snapping in half behind me.

"ROOOOOOAR"

Glancing behind me, I caught a glance of the giant Winterwolf from before as it was staring right at us as his left paw stood on what was a perfectly healthy tree...though it didn't make a move towards us as we came in hot on the cave entrance...

....right towards one of the dogs that had fired an arrow at the wolves.

"Watch out!" I called out, bursting into the cave and losing my footing on the slick floor almost instantly while Zephyr couldnt stop flying in time to avoid me, causing a man/dog/pony pile up at the mouth of cave.

"Ugh...did we make it?" Zephyr whimpered, his eyes rotating around like those in a cartoon.

"Yes you did, NOW GET OFF ME!!!" The same voice from before yelled out, causing Zephyr and I to scramble off the dog we were laying on.

"Sorry about that, I kinda couldn't stop running." I explained, feeling my left shoulder as I got a glare from the husky on the floor.

The wound from the dog bite isn't there either...guess I did knock myself out when I hit that tree...then what was with that reflection of me?

"Well, at least you had a reason to be running that fast. Not many survive an encounter with a Queen Winterwolf." He stated, getting to his feet and dusting off his red armour. He grabbed a crossbow off the ground and holstered it to his back and extending a paw, allowing me to see his golden fur. "I am Commando, and as you can guess from my name, Commander of the North Wind."

"Ok...but how did you know we'd be here?" I asked him, shaking his paw as Reks snorted, causing Piper to smack him on the head.

"He couldn't have known they'd be here, Reks." She said before motioning to the cave. "This is the eastern entranceway to the underground city, so there are always guard dogs up here." She glances at Commando and rolls her eyes. "That, and Commando likes to patrol the pathways of the caves himself all the time, something about making sure its 'Done Right' or whatever."

Commando chuckled at that, though he seemed to be keeping a wary eye on Zephyr.

"Sure do, keeps those crystal rats in that city above out of our turf." He said before glaring at the pegasus next to me.

"Rats? Who are you calling a rat?!" Zephyr exclaimed, but Commando ignored him, gesturing to me and Zephyr as he frowned at Piper.

"On that note, what's with the winged one? You know their kind arent welcome here, not after what happened to the chief. And why the monkey? Last I checked we didnt run a circus, Captain."

"He's with us, the renegades had him locked up and working slave duty" Piper explained while I turned to look at our pursuers, noticing they hadn't tried to attack us yet...but why?

Noticing my gaze, Commando pointed at the edge of the cave entrance, which was lined with several symbols that looked eerily like the ones back in the cave I had went into.

"See those runes? The Chief set them up, keeps the evil ones at bay." He turned around and pointed at Piper. a relenting look in his eyes. "Due to the situation with the mining corps, the furless monkey and the pegasus can stay for a couple of days...no more."

Piper smirked at that, clinking her paw against my crystal arm, causing Commando to do a double take as he looked at me incredulously.

"Your kidding...so there was a pool up there after all? And it chose him?!" He face-pawed before walking off, the two archer dogs following him without a single word. "Take him to the chief...I'm going to go make sure their arent any other distractions at the other gates."

Letting out a huff at the retreating figure, Piper turned to Reks.

"Take Zephyr to the guest barracks, I'll take Mitch to the chief." She instructed, causing Reks to huff but reluctantly follow his sisters orders as he pointed at Zephyr and motioned for him to follow.

Zephyr went to object, but I kicked him on the his left foreleg, causing the pegasus to look up at me.

"Hey, where else do you think your going to go? We need them to get to the empire." I told him, causing him to groan as he shook snow out of his mane.

"Fine, but I don't like this, Mitch. Talk to the chief, then we leave as soon as possible." He stated before turning away and hovering after Reks into the cave, leaving me alone with Piper.

"Cmon, let's get you to the boss." She said sternly as I began to follow her, noticing that we were going down a deeper path on the left compared to the inclined path Reks took on the right.

"So, how where does the tunnel Reks took go?" I asked as we took a right turn down the suprisngly well lit cave.

Silence.

Fuck, is she still mad at me? I thought as I mentally sighed. It was just a joke! Why did she take it so seriously? I thought before shaking my head. Better try to patch things up with her, considering she saved me and all.

Deciding to swallow my pride, I took a deep breath and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing the captain to turn around.

"What?" She asked, her tone stressing that she wasn't in the mood for games.

"Look, I didn't mean to insult you earlier with the sword jab. It was just my way of messing with people." I told her, removing my hand from her plating as I placed my hands behind my head. "I'm sorry."

Piper squinted at me for a while before sighing, giving me a small smile as she out out her paw.

"Thanks for apologizing, Mitch. Not many males do that around here, they expect all of us females to be as insensitive as they are." She said as I shook her paw with a smile of my own.

"Well screw them, not our fault if we sit on couches eating ice cream while watching soap operas." I told her, earning a confused look and that sound dogs make when they don't understand you, causing me to wave her off. "Nevermind, just a phase I went through." I told her as we resumed our walk, though now without the rather gross vibe. "Tell me this, if your the captain of the North Wind...where does big shot from earlier fit in?"

Piper snorted a laugh as we pass a pair of guard dogs, each of them saluting Piper before giving me the stink eye.

Well, fuck ya too. I thought as they passed. You guys are lucky I dont have a newspaper.

"Commando is the third in charge, though he believes he's numero uno just because he's got deadly aim with a crossbow. Other than him, every other guard dog are just enlisted units in our military."

"Hmm...sounds familiar to what we have back home." I said, earning an eyebrow raise from the captain. "Though officers were usually not as simplified as you make your military out to be."

"How so?" Piper asked, causing me to shrug, feeling my arms and noticing I wasn't cold anymore...though that couldn't be the heat from the torches alone heating me up, right?

"Don't know much about the U.S military, just enough to know the enlisted and officer ranks aren't just categorized by your skill levels at what you do." We took a left turn as we came to a stop in front of a blue door that had more of those odd runes on them. "Let's just say someone could go to college and be put in charge of a unit immediately after graduation."

Piper frowned at that. "That's...weird to think about...just allowing fresh meat to lead people?" She shook her head and knocked on the door.

A small slit of the door opened up, revealing two beady eyes staring back at us as a gruff voice cleared its throat.

"What have you to report, Captain?" An equally deep voice asked as Piper went into attention, saluting the figure as her armor clanked loudly at the effort.

"Investigated the mining corps, and found three slackers running a slave hussle there." She motioned with her head towards me. "One of the slaves was chosen by one of the pools of Duisternis, and I've brought him to see the chief."

The dog on the other side said nothing as the little slit slid closed, a moment a silence reigning over the hall before the door slid down into the ground.

"Whoa." I stated, suprised at the sight of gears and chains in the linings of where the doors hinges would be.

So these dogs are actually capable of creating technological advancements? Perhaps Zephyr and I have been underestimating our companions brainpower...which might pose an issue if things go south.

Getting a nudge from Piper, I shook off my thoughts and stepped into the room as my eyes began to adjust to a drastic change of lighting.

It was MUCH brighter in the room than it was in the halls, and a couple squints later I was able to spot what looked like glowing crystals that lined the roof of the room.

"How are those crystals glowing?" I asked as a soft laugh echoed all around me.

"Why, what a peculiar question indeed! Why do the crystals glow in the dark, kehehee!"

As my eyes finished adjusting to the room, I was finally able to see what was lined up on the opposite wall of the doorway.

There was a crystal chair that had to stand about twelve feet tall. Standing next to the chair was a rather obese looking dog that had a staff in his hands.

Must be the dog that let us in. I thought before looking up at who was on the crystal seat.

"Sir!" Piper said, kneeling before what had to be the chief. "Reks and I have returned successfully. The mining corp and its renegade dogs are dealt with, and the pool is dry."

The dog she was kneeling to was...interesting to say the least. He seemed to be a tad smaller than me, though at five feet six inches that isn't saying much, and was easily a husky like the rest of the dogs around here.

What made him different was the fact that only his head and tail were a normal white fur...the rest was covered in yellow crystal.

"Rise, Captain! I can tell from the hairless ape in front of you that the pool was dry, but thank you regardless." He said with a giggle before pointing at me with . "What is your name, stranger?"

"My name is Mitch, Sir." I said, bowing slightly as the dog smiled.

"Mitch, aye? What a weird name...but I can talk, my name is literally Wackjob!" He said before cackling again, causing my to snort slightly.

"I wonder why?" I mumbled as he stopped laughing almost instantly, his eyes narrowing as his smile disappeared from his face.

"What did you say?" He asked, his tone eerily lacking the cheery vibe it had as Piper rose to her feet quickly.

"Sir! He didn't mean any-"

"QUIET!!!" He roared, his voice getting deep as his white fur turned yellow instantly and his teeth became more jagged.

In the blink of an eye, the chief was standing inches from me, his rather disgusting breath forcing itself into my lungs as I stood there, unable to react or move at all from shock.

How the hell did he move so fast? I wondered in fear as he sniffed my face three times before returning back to the crystal seat of his, his body returning to normal as fast as it had changed.

"I see. So you have a nightmare as well?" He said with a smirk as he looked to Piper. "Relax, Captain. He won't die today, I just had to provoke his nightmare into thinking he was in danger...look at his arm."

Looking down, I noticed my right arm was faintly glowing black, something that hadn't happened before.

"You...knew that would happen?" I asked as Piper sighed in relief.

"The chief is capable of sensing magic on those who don't usually have it, it's part of his gift from Duisternis." She explained as she kicked me in the shin.

"OW! What the hell?!" I yelled as she frowned at me, her eyes holding a deathly serious look in their gaze.

"The chiefs nightmare can't stand being insulted, and will lash out if not controlled. DO NOT provoke it!" She explained as Wackjob sighed.

"Aye! The cost for magic can be great, as you will learn the hard way sooner or later." Wackjob stated as he smiled. "But first, I must ask what you are. I've never seen your kind before, and I want to know what qualified you for a magic core."

"Easy enough." I answered, happy that the chief wasn't going to kill me after all. I looked around before shrugging and sitting on the ground, getting comfortable as I prepared myself.

"Alright, so it started when I was heading home to see my family..."

Author's Note

Yup, we're gonna end there for now. I want to write more, but I'm tired and have decided to split this in half.

A lot more action this chapter, between the Winterwolves and the underground home for the diamond dogs.

The winter wolves are pretty much Timberwolves, but native to the northern region of Equestria. If Timberwolves can exist in a place of magical weirdness like Everfree, then why wouldn't someone's dark magic (Like Sombras) have an Influence on the snow and ice surrounding the city he once attempted to recontrol.

(Besides, Timberwolves are underrated as hell, and need some more story buffing. Expect more lore on those baddies throughout the story.)

As always, comment your thoughts or spellchecks! every bit helps and is greatly appreciated!

Chapter 7: The Winter tribe

Zephyr POV<<<<<<

Following Reks through the torchlit caverns, I found my eyes drawn to his odd fur coating as it glimmered off the caves warm lighting.

At first glance, it seemed like he simply had splotches of black fur. But with closer inspection I noticed it was as white as his sister, but seemed to have been scorched black all over his arms with only a few white patches left in random spots.

If he's been burned...why doesn't he wash the ash off? I thought, frowning as we walked turned a corner and entered a bigger room.

The open cavern had several mattresses lined up, about ten on both the left and right side of the room, and even had desks by each one. There was a big blue crystal hanging from the roof that illuminated the room in a light similar to sunlight yet it was also less strainful on the eyes.

Walking past the first six rows of beds (most of them empty barring one that had a brown coated diamond dog with green armour on the fifth row) Reks stopped at the seventh row and gestured to the bed on the left.

"Thanks." I said flatly, placing my duffel bag on the bed and sprawling out on it with a sigh. "Not to shabby for a couple of diamond dogs."

A snort followed by the sound of receding metal let me know Reks had heard me and left, leaving me mostly alone in the room with only my thoughts and the sleeping dog across the room for company.

Speaking of...

"Hey, are you awake?" I called out, sitting up and looking the dog across from me.

A gruntled snore gave me my answer, making me sigh and lay back down

I wonder how Mom and Dad are doing? I thought as I turned to my side and nestled up against my bag as my thoughts turned to a certain sibling of mine, causing a half-hearted sigh to leave me.

I bet she's doing just fine in life, considering she's surrounded by those friends of hers...including Rainbow Dash. A smile went stretched across my face as flashes of the cerulean pegasus went through my head, allowing me to drift off peacefully as my thoughts circled around her and I flying through the clouds.

As soon as I can get loaded with cash from my mane styling career, she'll be sure to notice me. I chuckled quietly to myself. I could see it now: It would be after work and I'd fly to her cloud mansion just to find her raw beauty waiting for me. Her prismatic mane would radiate off the sunset as she welcomed me home with the soft embrace of her silk-smooth wings. We'd then go inside, watch hoofball, eat together, and when the day was done we would retire to the bedroom and then I could show her how a real stallion treats his mare! Red-faced, I had to readjust my laying position to being on my back so I wouldn't sleep on my precious jewels.

Gotta keep those in top shape for the mare of my dreams.

Mitch POV<<<<<<

Finishing my tale of how I had gotten to this world and obtained my core, I couldn't help but notice that the chief was looking at me carefully, his eyes never leaving mine as he he scratched under his right arm at some dangling crystals.

"So, you've managed to pass the test on the mountain and make your way here...and you say that you made a deal with a being known as D?" He said as I stood from my storytelling spot on the ground and nodded my head, pulling out my phone and looking at the single contact inside of it that had the fancy D as it's caller I.D.

"My phone has him listed as D, so that's what I'm calling him until I can find out more about him." I told the chief, noticing a soft knock from behind me as Piper went to answer the door, opening it and whispering to whoever was on the other side.

"And do you plan on hunting down this D?" He said with a snort as Piper returned from the door and walked over to the guard dog and whispered something in his ear before returning to her spot next to me with a yawn.

"Pretty much. He's my best bet at going home as of now." I said as the chief rose to his feet, listening to what the guard dog to his side was whispering to him before returning his gaze back to me.

"Very well!" He exclaimed, pointing a yellow paw finger thing at Piper. "I have a new assignment for you and your brother!"

Piper, who was starting to look wxhausted herself, shot into a ramrod state of attention and saluted her boss.

"Sir!" She stated strongly, her tone indicating her eagerness to do whatever asked of her regardless of her mental state.

"As of tomorrow afternoon, you and Reks will escort these two to the empire west of here, there one of you will remain with Mitch to aid him while the other returns and continues preparations for the western assault." The chief stated as Piper nodded, dropping her salute and turning to me.

"Alright, Mitch. You heard the chief, let's go and-"

"Leave the human with us...alone."

Piper and I turned back to the chief just to see his fur was yellow again alongside the extended fangs and claws.

"S-Sir...but your orders-"

"Are still in effect, but the being needs to be told something...in private."

Nodding quickly, Piper and the guard dog exited the room quickly, the door clanking shut behind me as Wackjob approached slowly.

"Uhhhhh, what's up?" I asked nervously, my voice hitching slightly on the second half of my question.

Wackjob chuckled as he grabbed the phone out of my hand and clenched it, allowing his left paw to glow brightly for a while before handing the phone back to me.

Looking down at it, I noticed there was a notepad app on my phone. Clicking on it, it brought me to one list that had apparently been made for me.

1-Find the wizard of the sun.
2-Locate the other three pools to Duisternis.
3-Master your magic.

"How did you do that? And what are these?" I asked, looking up from my phone as Wackjob kept a blank face.

"Your mission. There is word of a unicorn in the empire that knows of many things, seek him out and find where the other magic pools are." He said as I couldn't help but grimace, noticing be didn't answer my first question but decided to leave it be.

"Why are those pools important though? I have a magic core now, so is it really necessary to find more of them?" I told him as he shook his head.

"You must remember that your core is weak. Although it will get stronger over time, bathing in these pools with speed the process along, allowing you to stand a better chance against those who will hurt you or try to stop you from achieving your goals."

Hurt me?

"What do you mean by 'hurt me'?" I exclaimed as I took a step back. "Who's coming after me?"

Wackjob shrugged his crystal shoulders, a frown coming to his face as he looked me over.

"I cannot say for certain, Just remember that your magic is born from darkness, and there are some VERY powerful inhabitants in this world that have it out for those who use the dark arts."

I groaned, rubbing my eyes with my good hand as I mulled over his words.

So this world has beings that hunt dark magic users? That doesn't sound that unrealistic, considering most people fitting that description are evil...but if I'm found then I'll lose my magic core...or get locked up without a chance of getting home.

Stifling a yawn, I turned back to Wackjob just to see he had reverted to his original form again.

"remember, monkey boy. There are few who know much about the pools of Duisternis, and fewer still that see its power in a good light. You must be alert at all times as you wander Equestria and the lands around it." The chief stated as he gave me a smile. "But before all that, we must get you some rest. You look like absolutely disgusting!"

I smiled at his nonchalent attitude and bowed slightly to the top dog. "Thanks, Chief. We kinda got interrupted last time we tried to sleep, and it's been kinda dragging on me."

The chief laughed as he waved me off, turning away from me as he looked up at the glowing crystals.

"Then go! Piper will take you to the barracks where you shall rest. Then you'll be taken care of tomorrow before you depart."

Sighing in relief, I turned away from the chieftain and knocked on the door that was behind me, watching in awe as the gear mechanism pulled the door away again, revealing what looked like an equally tired Piper in front of me.

"So, ready to get some sleep?" I asked her as her dim eyes brightened for a second before exhaustion took control again.

"Oh thank the gods. I'll take you to the same barracks Reks took Zephyr, and you can rest there." She said before doing a one-eighty and walking off rather quickly, leaving me hard-pressed to follow behind, leaving the chief in his room as I followed after the captain.

After a couple of minutes of following after her, she led me into a room full of beds lined up against the walls.

"Zephyr!" I called out, seeing the stallion laying on one of the beds farther in the room.

Moving past Piper, I walked up to the pegasus only to stop in my tracks immediately as my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Zephyr was currently sleeping on his back, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that he was currently spotting a bone that was sitting up like a sniper rifle just waiting to be fired.

"Mmm...Rainbooow." He muttered in his sleep, turning away from me (Thank goodness) as Piper walked up to me with a sly smile on her face.

Man is really getting it on his his dream with that rainbow chick. I thought, suppressing a surge of laughter at the scene in front of me as Piper spoke up.

"So, never seen a stallions cock before?" She stated with a laugh as I glared at her.

"How was I supposed to know the guy was having a wet dream?!" I exclaimed sharply as I felt something bounce off the side of my head.

Turning towards my attacker, I noticed a diamond dog that was wearing crystal armour that had a grass green tint that was a bit faded. The dog smirked at Piper before returning its gaze to me, allowing me to see the yellow irises that shined off the crystal light from above.

"Some people are trying to sleep, you know." The dog said, an oddly sophisticated female voice coming from her as she eyed me up and down. "Though...I don't recall ever running across someone like you before."

I gave the brown coated dog a soft wave, noticing Piper looked a bit agitated. "My names Mitch." I gestured to Zephyr, who had begun stroking himself in his sleep...somehow. "The sleeping pegasus is my friend Zephyr."

"Mitch and Zephyr, huh. Odd names, but us dogs aren't ones to talk." The dog stated before shaking her head. "Nonetheless, My clan calls me Roxy." She said as she stretched out before sitting up and looking back at Piper with a smirk. "So, Captain...how's the 'coltfriend' been?"

Piper looked down at Roxy, crossing her arms as she slanted her hips to the side while her ears twitched in annoyance.

"Buzz off, Rox. You know he's real." Piper stated as Roxy shrugged, lifting her paws up submissively.

"Relax, I saw you practicing your swordfighting with a pony a couple times, but that doesn't prove your dating him or anything." Roxy laughed as I looked between the two, perplexed at the way they were talking to each other.

"Uh...do yall know each other?" I asked them as Piper glanced at me and nodded.

"While Reks and I were being raised here, Roxy here would be come to the north all the time on selling herbs and potions to us from the south, so we ended up kinda growing up together." Piper explained as Roxy reached over and pulled up a satchel from the side of the bed she was on and slapped it lightly.

"Right as always, Pips!" Roxy said, chuckling as Piper puffed her cheeks in annoyance at the nickname. "See, Mitch. I make a living giving potions and natural cures to the three tribes that aren't able to make them on their own, considering my tribe is the only one with the supplies and know how to do so."

"Tribes?" I asked as Roxy raised an eyebrow at my lack of knowledge.

"You really must not be from around here, huh." She said before reaching into her bag and pulling out a piece of paper, opening it up sideways before showing it to me.

"This map is a little bit outdated and doesn't have all the territories on it, but until the world map gets expanded by those noble horns in Canterlot I am forced to work with what I got." She said before tapping the icy mountain zone in the north, just to the right of what had to be the crystal empire. "This area is where we are, the Winter tribe in the Yaket Mountain Range."

Her paw moved to the left side of the map next to a spot of water by the something listed as the Smokey Mountains. "And this is where the Hydro tribe lives, westward of this mountain range and below the sea."

Piper pointed at a patch of forest above some sort of desert area on the south part of the map marked as the badlands. "That's where Roxy and her tribe, the Willow tribe, reside. It's the easiest place to forage for their trade goods and potion stock."

Roxy glared at the white furred captain, pushing her away from the map with a playful scowl while Piper snickered, sticking her tongue out at the merchant dog.

"Hey! Let an experienced dog do the explaining, Pips!" She exclaimed before pointing at the sea on the right side of the map. "Beyond that sea is a land where dragons reside, alongside the magma tribe and its tempered leader of course."

"Whoa...this world is huge!" I exclaimed before noticing a castle in the center of the map. "Wait...what is that?"

Roxy stiffened slightly at that as Pipers stare hardened and she turned away from us.

"You can explain that to him, Roxy. I'm going to go get some rest." She said suddenly as she walked out of the room quickly, leaving me alone with Roxy and a moaning yet still sleeping Zephyr that was slowly getting louder.

"What was that about?" I asked, using all my willpower to tune out Zephyr as he began mumbling some name under his breath while is mattress made that sound springs make when bounced on.

There was NO way I was sneaking a look at him right now, especially if I ended up seeing something I'd regret...again.

Roxy's ears flattened as she looked down at the map before rolling it up and putting it away.

"You see, that castle in the center of the world is the place I mentioned earlier: Canterlot...that's where the most powerful ponies live, and below them...the Grandmaster." She told me, her red eyes honing in on me as I found myself looking away from their intense stare.

Damn, those eyes are something fierce. I thought, scratching my head as a question came to mind. "Who's the Grandmaster?"

Roxy looked away, staring at the path Piper had left for a moment before turning back to me just as Zephyr began to breath in and out quickly and rapidly.

"The Grandmaster is the alpha dog and supreme ruler over the tribes. He was the first to find a pool of Duisternis thanks to some fancy book he found, and from the pool he was given the power to see the future...at a cost." Roxy muttered as she shuddered slightly before continuing. "They say that he-"

"DASHIE YES!!!"

To my absolute shock and horror, I watched as the bed to the right of Roxy got hit with and covered by a fresh white coating from the pegasus to my right as he continued to moan in his sleep for a whole minute before he calmed down, completely ceasing to move as a light snore came from his sleeping form.

Did this guy just jizz right next to me? And who the hell is Dashie?! I thought, completely blown away at what just happened.

Roxy and I just stared at the stained bed for what had felt like hours before the dog in front of me spoke up.

"If I had been one bed to the right..." Roxy began before she turned green slightly and shaking her head, refusing to continue that thought.

"...It's probably best we forget that just happened." I told her, getting a nod in return from her as she stood and slowly took off her greaves and chest plate, making my already red face go crimson as I got a good view of her body.

I had originally thought only minotaurs would have human like bodies, but apparently the dogs in this world did too. As soon as Roxy took off her chest plate, I was able to see she was wearing a rather tight tunic that went straight down to her waist and matched what looked like fur-tight sweatpants in a grass green color.

It also didn't help that she had mounds sticking out of her chest. Nothing like Berthas (Thank God) but they were definitely there.

Flick!

"Ow! What the hell?!" I exclaimed as I rubbed my nose as Roxy pulled her paw back from me.

"Don't be a perv, Mitch. I don't know you well enough to let you just ogle at my body..." She scolded me before moving two mattresses down from where Zephyr and his mess was. Just as she reached the bed though she turned and winked at me. "...Yet."

I felt my throat run dry as she said that, watching her lay down into her new bed space and face away from me, allowing my eyes to be able to trace every line on her back all the way down to her swinging tail and curved ass...Damn she had a fine-

No! We are NOT thinking that way about a dog, sentient or not! I thought in shock as my mind began to flood with rather inappropriate thoughts involving my new friend.

Man, I'm alone in a world as the only human and my brain and body decide to be horny NOW!?! Why not while I was in college, damn it!

Laying down on my mattress, I glanced once more over at Zephyr and Roxy before sighing and laying down and facing the latter.

I'd rather stare at her ass all night than that sleeping cum rocket beside me. I thought to myself as my eyes closed slowly and slept came over me, failing to notice that there was a dog standing at the entranceway watching those in the room with contempt in his eyes.

The next day<<<<<<

Poke.

"H-Huh?" I sputtered, waking up to the feel of someone poking my side.

What time is it? Theres no daylight down here, and they dont have clocks... I thought to myself before remembering I had a phone and checking it. Eleven a.m? So at least its morning.

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I rolled over to the left, I found Zephyr standing up next to me, his left hoof inches from my back.

"Mitch, your awake!" He whispered as he looked over at Roxy. "I think we should find a way out of here!"

Batting his hoof away, I rotated my body all the way around so I could face him better.

"First off, don't touch me with your hooves. You jacked off in your sleep last night and I KNOW you didn't clean yourself." I told him, causing his face to light up like a tomato.

"I-I-What?! How?!" He exclaimed as I threw my hands into the air before falling back on the bed.

"I don't know!" I huffed before shaking my head. "But we're getting off topic. We have no reason to leave ourselves because they're gonna take us to the empire."

Zephyr narrowed his eyes, not liking the sound of that at all.

"And how can we trust them? They're just Diamond dogs!" He whisper yelled as I was starting to get agitated with his attitude.

"What's that supposed to mean? They've got the engineering capability to have mechanical doors and the brainpower to develop a trade system, so they aren't just mindless animals." I retorted as I shot him a glare. "Not to mention that other than the three dogs on the mountain cave, no other dogs we have met have done anything to us or wanted to hurt us, so what's the problem?!"

Zephyr huffed and looked over at Roxy again for a moment before shaking his head.

"While I'm away from home, I write letters to my parents and my sister." He started, surprising me with the look into his personal life. "A while back, my sister wrote to me about how a friend of hers got captured by Diamond dogs and was forced into slave-like labor to find gems." He looked back to me as his eyes showed none of the friendly spark they had usually. "Then I end up getting foalnapped and forced into the same kind of work only a couple years later."

He sat down on the bed and laid back down on his back, though he kept his head tilted towards me as his tail drooped over the side of the bed.

"Mitch...I just can't bring myself to trust them. Ponies don't exactly have a good track record with their kind, so you can't expect me to just believe anything they say." He told me, making me sigh and rub my eyes as I wiped the crust from them.

"To be fair, you ponies aren't exactly the best at opening your home to other species." I heard Roxy cut in, causing Zephyr and I to sit up immediately and turn to look at her.

"You were awake?!" Zephyr exclaimed as Roxy nodded while getting up.

"Yeah...though I can't blame you for not trusting dogs. Most of them are just idiotic furballs." She looked a bit despondent at that remark before shaking her head and smiling at Zephyr. "Names Roxy, by the way."

Zephyr stared at her for a while before nodding.

"I'm Zephyr Breeze." Zephyr told her as he watched her put her armour on. "Why is your armour green?"

"Different tribe, she comes from the south." I explained to Zephyr as Roxy finished suiting up. "There are four of the in the world, and hers is the center of trades for the dogs."

Zephyr made a hmm sound before getting up and going through his duffel bag. "Sounds like you two got real acquainted last night while I was asleep, huh."

Noticing the underlying tone in that statement, I flashed him a glare before pointing at the bed in front of his...which not only still had the stains but was starting to reek as well.

"You can't talk, dude. You just about ruined that mattress last night with your dream session with 'Dashie', who has to be some bombshell of a mare if she did THAT to you in your sleep!"

Flushing red, Zephyr coughed loudly while Roxy snorted out a laugh at his embarrasment.

"S-Shut up! Your just lucky Bertha isn't here, or you'd be doing the same!" He exclaimed as I got up and cracked my back. That mattress was not comfortable at all...which isn't that surprising honestly.

"You heard the minotaur before, she has a herd." I reminded him, remebering what she had saud about her family. "And I'd rather not end up hooking up with more than one person at a time anyway, hell Im not even sure I'm on board with herding in the first place." I told him as Piper and Reks walked into the room, the latter looking bored to the stark contrast of his excited sister.

"So, are you two ready? We have a minecart ready to take us to the end of the tunnel and straight to the cavern beneath the empire." Piper stated while I noticed she was wearing a blue tunic similar to Roxys (though she had less chest than her) while Reks was wearing a matching blue sleeveless vest that didn't have any buttons on it. She looked between the three of us before her she sniffed a couple times. "Ugh. What is that weird smell. It smells like a horse gave birth in here!"

"Don't ask." I deadpanned before motioning at her tunic. "Wait...where's your armour?" I asked as Piper tilted her head towards Reks.

"He absorbed it for the trip. We'd rather not scare any of the crystal ponies by walking around with weapons and armour on." She explained as she looked at Roxy. "What are you planning on doing, Rox?"

Roxy shrugged, her eyes nearly glittering in the crystal light as she fell back on the bed.

"Eh, I'll head out later. I've got some things to talk to your chief about." She said before turning to me. "Make sure to stay alive, dog boy. I'd love to show you some of my...'stock' sometime."

Chuckling nervously, I smiled but didn't look her in the eyes.

"Yeah...I will." I stated with a bit of a pause in my voice, making Reks wheeze out a laugh and Zephyr snort.

Great, now I'm flustered around her too! Why can't this crap just be as simple as talking with guys?

Piper just face-pawed as she watched me be the opposite of smooth. "Boys will be boys, no matter the species." She turned around, motioning us to follow her. "C'mon! let's get going!"

Grabbing his duffel bag, Zephyr and I began to follow Reks and his sister as they led us through the caverns again, this time it felt like we were going both lower and higher at different intervals in the cave.

As we turned a corner, I had to hop from leg to leg as a couple a pups went running by in a game of tag, each of them looking back at me as they ran past with a look of pure confusion or wonder on their faces.

I wonder what the heck I must look like to a bunch of kids who've never seen humans before. I thought as we continued to follow the captain into a room about the same size as the barracks, except for the huge hole in the other side of the wall with a railway running across the ground.

Piper stopped halfway across the room and pointed at three minecarts that were on the rails, though only two of them were empty. "Alright! We load up in five minutes. Make sure you've got all your stuff, boys!"

Patting myself down and feeling my phone in my pocket, I was all clear and ready to ride...though Zephyr decided to start unpacking his duffel to make sure he had everything.

"Let's see: Blanket, pony-head mannequin, salt spray, wonderbolt magazine, cans of dried fruits...yup! All clear!" He stated with joy as I stared at the food he had layed out on the ground.

There were several cans of pineapples, pears, and other fruits across the floor. And dried foods or not I was starving.

Seeing my hungry gaze, Zephyrs eyes widened and he grabbed the cans in his wings.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on Mitch. These are mine!" He exclaimed as my eyes narrowed.

"Rule one of the bro code: NEVER hog all the food!" I yelled as I dove at him, crashing into the pegasus and sending the food cans flying across the room.

"Noooo! Not the pomegranates!" Zephyr exclaimed as he went to fly after one can while I grabbed at the pineapple can.

"Yes! Breakfast awai-GAH!" I exclaimed happily, only to be tackled by Zephyr while Reks and Piper watched from the minecarts.

"Should we tell them there is food in the supplies we stored?" Piper whispered, motioning to the bags of supplies in the third minecart as Zephyr and I rolled past them.

"Give me the pineapples, you piece of shit!" I yelled as I tried to heave the cans from his winged grip.

"Never! Get your own!" Zephyr retorted as he tightened his grasp on the cans.

Reks simply wheezed and shook his head, earning a smirk from his sister as Zephyr pushed himself off of me and held the cans away from me with his wings.

"Bro, chill! You aren't getting my canned foods! It's all I got left!" He stated as I pointed at the cans in his wings.

"You got like twenty cans there, just give me one!" I retorted as I went to tackle him again, only to be stopped by an arrow firing into the ground in between us.

"See, this is why we don't allow riff-raff in our home. They fight for the smallest scraps like those despicable griffons." Commando said with a sneer as he lifted his crossbow and hoisted it on his back. "At least your leaving...even if it meant something taking some of our food with you."

Zephyr snorted and put the food back in his duffel bag while I turned my gaze to the commander.

"And why are you here?" I asked him as he shot me a smile.

"Same as always, just doing my rounds and keeping up security. I just happened to hear the commotion and thought something had gotten in through this tunnel." He told me as he leaned against the entrance wall and made a shoo shoo motion with his paw. "Don't let me stop you from leaving though. Just make sure to not let the winter breeze hit you on the way out!"

Turning away from him, I walked over to the minecarts and got in the second one alongside Zephyr while he put.

"Pay him no mind. He's just in a bad mood since he's not going on the western assault." Piper told me as her and Reks got in the first minecart.

Wait...Western assault? Didnt Wackjob say something sbout that? But the only thing to the west is that hydro dog tribe Roxy pointed out to me. I thought as a loud clank resounded off the carts as Piper whooped with joy.

"Alright! We're coupled up! Hang on tight, and keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times!" Piper exclaimed as the cars began to move slowly forwards.

"How are these cars moving?" Zephyr asked as Piper pointed at a mini furnace in the front car, which on a closer look was bulkier than the other two.

"This car uses coal as a source with a magic furnace, just like your trains you ponies use to travel the world." She said as Reks put another coal into the fire, speeding up the cars by a small amount.

"That's...actually pretty cool." Zephyr said while Reks picked up a bag of coal and started looking through it. "Who would've thought you dogs could actually pull off this stuff."

"Told ya so." I stated smartly as we hit a bump, causing all three of the the carts to shake slightly. "Whoa!"

"Is everyone alright?" Piper asked as both Zephyr and I nodded, though all Reks did was whimper slightly. causing Piper to turn to him.

"Reks, what did you..." She started but stopped as she looked down where he was looking. "...Oh no."

Looking into their cart, I could see that the bump had caused Reks to drop the entire bag of coal into the furnace, each of the black mounds falling into the fire and immediately being ate up by the fire.

Zephyr, seeing my gaze, could only latch onto me as his ears splayed back on his head in fright while Reks, Piper and I gripped the cars for dear life as we awaited the rapid speed up.

...

"Maybe it didnt-" I went to say but immediately got cut off as the cars lurched forwards at a speed that was much faster than before with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

"HOOOOOOOOOOOOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

Author's Note

Alright! Got this bad boy out nice and neatly. A lot happened in this chapter, but now Mitch and the others are finally heading to the empire...via the most dangerous way possible: Runaway minecarts!

Thanks to Max Ksenofil for helping me with edits some story alteration (better scenes between the characters and all that)

Feel free to comment about the chapter, whether it be Grammer fixes or just your thoughts!

(p.s: If anyone is confused about the diamond dogs technology, it's a combination of fuel based objects like the minecarts and a gear based pulley system with the door...with a touch of dark magic involved to make things easier for them.)

Chapter 8: Bread and Flutterbutter

Mitch POV<<<<<<

"HOOOOOOOOOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as the carts hung a lightning fast sharp right. Gripping the edges of the cart tightly, I looked down only to find Zephyr had weapped his hooves around my waist with his face pressed into my side.

"Hang on boys! It won't be too long until we reach the end of the tracks!" Piper notified us, causing Zephyr to pull his head from my side and stare down the captain and her brother, the latter busy trying to stop their minecarts engine.

"And what happens then, huh? We're going too fast to be able to stop safely!" Zephyr exclaimed just as we took a sharp left, causing the wheels to emit a loud screech that would have made bats jealous.

"DAMN!!!" Piper yelled, shaking off the sound as her ears stood straight up, turning to us as the carts seemed to stop speeding up, yet kept their already fast pace. "As for your question, Zephyr...Just pray the snow near the empire hasn't melted all the way." She answered, her voice wavering slightly as she turned away from us and hunkered in the car, bracing for inevitable impact.

Well that wasnt reassuring. I thought grimly as I noticed there were no longer any cavern walls surrounding us. Did we end up in a different part of the cave system?

Curiosity pushed me to look around more, first noticing how large this part of the cave was (At least the size of a couple football fields with the walls being far off from the rails.) before I found myself tilting my head over the side of the speeding minecart to see what was below...

...only to find a bottomless abyss staring back at me, with only the supporting beams of the railway jutting from the darkness below.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, pulling my head back, much to the concern of Zephyr.

"What do you see?" He asked before leaning his long pony neck across the cart and looking over for a split second before pulling back and returning to his previous state of fear. "Why the buck was this railway built over a ravine?"

POP!

...What the fuck was that?

"That didn't sound good." I whispered, noticing we had started to slow down greatly compared to the cart in front of us, causing Piper to turn around and pass us a questioning glance.

"What was that popp- Mitch! You guys need to get out of that cart!" She yelled at us while pointing at the front of the cart. "You just got disconnected from the engine!"

That would explain why Piper and Reks' cart hasn't slowed down yet. I thought as I heard another pop go off, this time causing the cart to slowly lean to the right.

Zephyr noticed it too, if on an account of him releasing his grip on me and panicking.

"Mitch, we're about to capsize! What do we do?!" He yelled as I looked between him and the retreating cart Piper was in, my mind kicking into overdrive.

I dont trust these rails enough to walk across them, and I doubt we'll be able to get far in the luggage cart without the main engine... I trailed off mentally as I glanced over Zephyr and his wings. Thats it!

I turned to Zephyr and picked him up by his waist, holding him over my head as he began to squirm in my grasp.

"Mitch, what the buck are you doing? Let me down!" He exclaimed in shock as I felt myself start to lean towards the right alongside the cart.

"You can fly, Zephyr! Follow the tracks and meet up with Piper and Reks. Then you guys can come fish me out of this ravine later!" I told him as I chunked him about maybe a yards length before what had to be his prey instincts kicked in, allowing his wings to shoot open and keep him in the air.

The throwing motion, however, caused my body to unbalance entirely, sending me over the edge and into the darkness below alongside the metal deathtrap we had been in.

"MITTTTTCH!!!" Was all I heard before a flash of light flashed from my crystal arm and the pitch black ravine engulfed me.

×××?×××<<<<<<

Deep below Canterlot, deeper still in the crystal mines that hadn't seen any action or activity since a certain kidnapping, a lone dog was running through the barely lit cavern.

Bearing a torch (For obvious reasons, as one does in dark places) in one paw and a letter in the other, the dog made his way through several twists and turns before he made it to a door that sealed off passageway into the epicenter of the crystal cave.

Placing the torch on the ground next to the door, the dog walked up and knocked on the door six times.

"Grandmaster...I bear news from the north." He spoke in that raspy voice all bulldogs had when they opened their dirty mouths. Only a moments notice passed before his sentence was answered by the doors in front of him opening inward in a grand motion, beckoning for him to enter.

And the dog did just that, though with slight hesitation as too not insult the one he served with his life.

Approaching the end of the room the dog noticed that his majesty, the one who he serves diligently, looked more...tired than usual. (Which was a feat since he could only see his head from the shadows that surrounded him). Now, considering what his majesty does for the kingdom, this comes as no surprise, but if its age rather than work that's causing the exhaustion, then the news he holds in his paw is all the more important to his majesty.

Reaching the end of the room, the dog faced the ground and knelt to one knee, extending the letter out to his majesty with an open paw.

A moments notice went by before the faintest brush of fur against fur alerted the messenger that his majesty had taken the letter, allowing him to stand up to his feet and stand at attention, awaiting a response.

After a much longer pause, his majesty spoke out from his spot in the room.

"All goes according to the prophecy." The Sire stated in a flat voice that echoed across the room with the power of an earthquake. A normal dog would've wet themselves at its sound, but not this dog!

He had been doing this for aaaaaages!

"Grandmaster, If I may?" The dog asked, and after awaiting a negative response and receiving none, he continued. "Should I find and bring the human here now?"

Even without seeing his majesty, the dog could feel the shake of his head.

"Not necessary, we will let him grow for now. And besides, we have dogs all across Equestria to keep track of his progress." His majesty answered in the same commanding voice, though now the messenger had to admit it was slightly affecting him now.

"Y-Yes sire! Of course Sire!" The dog said quickly before doing the traditional parting bow (A perfect 45 degree bow with both his ears splayed backwards to show his place beneath his majesty.) he turned and left his majesty to do...what he always does when he's alone.

Feed Equiis and its nature through his gift (however he managed to do so was beyond the mental power of this dog, but he didn't care. Just as long as he could serve his majesty).

After the messenger left, the dog hidden in the shadows sighed and levitated a large tomb up in front of him, the front cover bearing the mark of what looked like a five fingered paw with swirls in the middle.

"The prophesied agent of Blood has arrived...but why did he arrive in the north rather than here in Canterlot?" The Grandmaster mused as he stroked an non-existant chin with a non-existant paw. "Perhaps it's that chaos gods fault...looks like an intervention might happen much sooner than originally planned."

Mitch POV<<<<<<

"Ohhhh." I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes, aware of the throbbing headache I was sporting at the moment.

How the hell am I not dead?! That fall definitely should've been fatal. I thought to myself as I went to get up, only to find my lower half of my body pinned under the minecart that had fallen with me.

Maybe if I can shimmy my legs out form under it?

Any attempt to get my legs to move, however, just seemed to fail. It was as if they weren't responding to my body's commands at all.

"Shit...I'm stuck donw here too, ain't I?!" I cursed as I looked around, but the only thing I could see was myself and the area around me due to my glowing arm.

Wait...

"Why are you glowing right now?" I asked it quietly as I tapped its cool exterior twice before shaking my head with a laugh. "And why am I talking to a chunk of rock?!"

"Because it can talk back?"

Hearing that voice speak out in the darkness set my heart racing, especially since I couldn't move.

"W-Whos there?!" I called out as almost in an instant my own face dropped down in front of me and gave me a toothy grin.

"Remember me?" I-He stated as I recalled the time in the woods and the prision cavern when I had met myself in a dream...but how was he here now?

As if reading my thoughts, the replica of me chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Relax, Mitch. I told you our face to face was coming soon, I just didn't expect it to be the NEXT day after you almost received head trauma by slamming into that tree!" He exclaimed as I narrowed my eyes at the doppelganger.

"You say that like I'm looking to get hurt! I didn't know I'd be down in this pit when I woke up this morning!" I yelled at him, my voice echoing throughout the tunnel as I thought about the situation I was in in conparision to his last visit. "But...does that mean I'm out cold again?"

Not-Me just sighed, putting his face into his left palm.

"Yeah, and whats worse is your pretty much on the path to being a disabled Isekai character right now." He said, raising a finger to my lips to stop and protests from me before the started. "Chill out, your core is healing your legs...but it'll take time, and the spell can leave you exhausted as long as it's running, so you'll be spending that time in your head with me until you heal up."

Sighing in relief at not having to be in a wheelchair, I looked my clone over for a while before tilting my head slightly, resting my arms under my head in a crossed manner.

"So...do you have a name? I'd rather not call you by something stereotypical like Joe or Anon." I asked him, getting a laugh from the copycat as he scratched his chin in thought.

"Hmm...what was the name of that magma boss from that pocket monster game you played a while back..." He whispered to himself before snapping his fingers. "Ah! That's right! Call me Maxie."

"Really? You could've picked from any bad guy from the time of my gaming phase, and you pick the climate obsessed vampire?" I deadpanned before another thought came to mind. "And how do you know about that anyway?!"

Maxie shrugged and sat down across from me, going criss-cross-aaplesauce as he tapped his head.

"Well, duh. I'm a part of you, Mitch. Thanks to that core, I am you and you are me...I just don't have any memories for you to pick at, just the basis knowledge of core magic that is known by all nightmare beings and the same level of intellect you do." He informed me before looking at the minecart on my legs. "Lemme fix that."

With a snap of his fingers, the minecart disappeared in an instant, allowing me to sit up and sit like he was, much to my own suprise.

"If my legs were broken and are being healed, why am I able to use then now?" I asked Maxie, slowly poking my legs while he answered.

"Because this is all in your head, Mitch. Hell, you could have wings in here and fly out of this cave right now!" He exclaimed, spreading his arms wide while I crossed my arms and let out a sharp huff.

"Only to wake up and be under a minecart again? No thanks, I'm not giving myself false hope like that." I told him sharply, getting a scoff in return from the blonde.

"So, your just going to give up?" He asked me, causing me to throw my hands in the air in exasperation.

"What should I do?! As far as I know, any 'magic' I have is purely for healing, and that doesn't get a cart off of me, Maxie! And I doubt Zephyr and the others will be able to find me!" I exclaimed before crossing my arms and letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "I'm screwed, man."

We sat there in silence for a while after that, neither of us even looking each other in the eye...until Maxie spoke up once again.

"Your magic is for healing purposes...but mines not." Maxie stated aloud, causing me to glance at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What? How does that help?" I asked him as he stood up.

"Well, I am your nightmare. Let me take control for a bit, and I'll get you out of this cave." He stated with a grin as he held out his left hand. "C'mon, Mitch. Do ya trust me?"

Standing up, I looked at his hand before giving the blonde me a glare.

"No, I don't. But I don't have many options right now." I sighed and grabbed his hand with my crystal one. "Do it, but give me back control when we make it to the surface."

Maxie smiled and winked, apparently happy with the agreement. "You won't regret this, Amigo!" He stated with a laugh as everything started becoming wavy and distorted.

I'm already regretting it, Amigo.

Maxie POV<<<<<<

Awaking with a sharp gasp, I got a quick look of my surroundings before slamming Mitch's left hand into the ground, relishing in the pain I felt in doing so.

"YEEEEES! I'm in the real world!" I exclaimed happily before arching my back so I could see behind me, giving me a good view of the minecart that was pinning us down.

"Lemme just..." I trailed off as I reached forward and touched the minecart with the crystal arm, causing the arm to glow black and make the metal minecart rot away to nothing but ash in a couple seconds.

Rolling on my back, I looked down at our legs and noticed they were still covered in that white light.

"Huh. They must've been busted pretty bad if they're taking that long to heal." I said as I leaned back on the ground and looked up into the darkness of the void.

Well, this isn't so bad. All I have to do is wait for our legs to heal, then I can find a way out of-

BZZZZT!

"What is making that infernal buzzing sound?!" I yelled as I looked around for the source of the racket before I noticed a glowing object nearby on my left. "What is that?"

Rolling over to it, I picked it up in my left hand and looked it over.

"Wait...this is Mitch's phone!" I exclaimed as I noticed it was saying someone by the name D was calling him. "How did he answer this before...Oh!" I exclaimed, remembering something about swiping something right.

Taking a chance, I swiped the green circle (The red circle was giving off some serious "ignore them" vibes) to the right, I lifted the phone to my left ear.

"Hello?" I asked, making my voice slightly higher pitched to sound more like Mitch.

"Ah, Mitch! Great to hear from you! Tell me, have you made it to the Empire yet?" D asked in a weirdly snarky voice, earning him a groan from yours truly.

"I'm stuck in a pit underground with my legs broken, D. Can't really get there right now." I told him plainly, only to nearly snap the phone in half after hearing laughter come from the other side.

"OHOHOHOHO! That was a good one, Mitchy boy!" He exclaimed before realizing I wasn't laughing with him. "...Your not joking, are you?"

"Gee, I wonder if I'm joking about the fact I'm in a pitch black hole in a mountain where I can't get out of, OF COURSE IM NOT JOKING ABOUT MY BROKEN LEGS, MORON!"

Suprisingly enough, I was shushed repeatedly by this D guy for that outburst

"Hey, keep it down! I have a guest over for tea and the last thing I need is-" He was cut off as I heard some feminine voice talking to him on the other side. "Yes, Flutterbutter it's that friend from before...Yes he's hurt, but that does-Wait!"

A small scuffle could be heard on the other side of the phone before it finally stopped, allowing me to hear only what sounded like shallow breathing on the other side.

"Uh...hello?" I asked into the phone, getting a squeak in response.

"H-Hello?" A timid voice barely registered through the phone. Thank the gods I was in a quiet cave, or I'd never would've heard her.

"I...um...overheard you talking to my friend about your injuries...A-Are you ok?" The female voice, from who'd I'd assume is called Flutterbutter from D's conversation earlier, asked me.

As much as I wanted to react in the same snarky way I did with D, I couldn't bring myself to do so. It was as if every part of me was revolting at the thought of tearing into this female emotionally.

But why? She sounds like any other being, just a bit more shy is all.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I've got healing magic working on my legs, I just need a way out of the cave I'm stuck in." I told her with a smile, regardless whether or not she could see it. Something about talking to her was just...calming.

"Your trapped in a cave! That's awful!" She exclaimed, her voice suddenly reaching normal volume. "Discord, you have to help him!"

Discord? Is that this D guys real name? I thought as I heard a sigh come from the phone.

"Alright, Flutters, I will." He stated with zero motivation in doing so.

He must like this FlutterButter girl.

"Mitch, my boy, tell me the name of one of your companions and I'll see about maybe teleporting you near them."

"Maybe?" I asked, not liking the sound of something that wasnt absolute.

"Chaos magic isn't straightforward, Mitch. Look where you ended up after the last teleportation spell I casted."

He had a point there.

"Fair enough." I replied as I tried to remember the names of his travel buddies.

Was it berna....Bertha! No, she left a while ago. I groaned slightly. Why was it so hard to remember their names?! What was the name of that pegasus thats been with Mitch since the beginning?

Zeppelin? Breezy? Noooooo....Oh, wait!

"How about Zephyr Breeze? Does he work?" I asked into the phone, getting a scoff from Discord and what had to be a gasp from Flutterbutter.

"Of course you'd pick that sleazy excuse of a pony, no offense." Discord said, to which I found myself frowning in confusion.

"How would I take offense to that?" I asked the chaos spellcaster.

"I was talking to my friend here, since she's a pony and all." Discord answered as I began to feel tingly all over my body. "Now, I've activated the spell, and thankfully I've met the pony you mentioned so I could link you to his magic core, but this won't be a certain thing so be ready to land on a rock or something like that."

"Anything is better than this cave." I told him as the phone suddenly shut off after flashing some sort of circular symbol with a lightning bolt in it three times. "Damn, must've died or something."

Oh well, at least I got my job done. Now I can return control back to Mitch until he gets himself hurt again...or he masters his powers, whichever comes first. I thought with a chuckle, relinquishing control of myself just as I felt our body teleport from our spot on the floor.

Zephyr Breeze POV<<<<<<

After Mitch had fell into the bottom of the ditch, I had two options.

1-Attempt to fly into a dark pit and try to pull him out, when I wasn't even sure I could carry the guy.

2-Follow his instructions and go get help from the dogs.

As much as I didn't like the dogs, I was a hundred percent sure I'd tear a muscle trying to heave Mitch out of that cave, so I decided to go with idea numero two

Which was was how I somehow ended up at the outside of the cave arguing with Piper about morals.

"YOU LEFT HIM DOWN THERE?!" She roared as she drove a paw into my chest fluff, ruining hours of hard work to make it align just right instantly with a single prod. "He called you a friend, and you LEFT HIM TO DIE?!"

"I DIDN'T LEAVE ANYONE!" I yelled back, starting to get seriously cross at the accusations of leaving Mitch behind. "He told me to come and get you two for help! And LOOK AT ME! How is someone of my stature going to pull a big guy like him out of a ditch?"

Reks snorted out a laugh at that, but ended up backing off when both Piper and I glared at him.

"Regardless, we don't leave dogs behind, even if they aren't dogs!" She yelled back at me. "And how do you expect to be able to save him anyway? All of our gear is still on the railway back in the cave!"

I pointed at the crystal empire that was maybe fifty hooves from us. "We can go there and get some equipment to pull him out, like rope and stuff!"

Piper sighed, rubbing her snout with her left paw as she shook her head. "I still can't believe you-Gah!"

A snowball hit her straight in the face from the left side, making her turn that way with a glare that could cook a hearthswarming feast in seconds.

"Who did-REKS! YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR DOING THAT, I AM NOT IN THE MOOD!" She yelled as she stomped after her brother, who pointed at the ground next to him with a grunt.

"Mitch?!" I exclaimed, shocked at seeing him just laying their in the snow. I glided over to where Reks was and landed right next to Mitch, noticing there was a faint glow on his legs that wasn't there before.

"Is he ok?" Piper asked as Reks put one of the fingers on his paw on Mitch's throat and resting it there.

After a moment Reks pulled the finger back and let out what sounded like a happy yip, much to the relief of me and Piper.

"Oh, thank the Grandmaster he's ok." Piper said with a sigh as Mitch began to stir.

"Man, who knew you could squeeze butter out of butterflies like that..." He said in a whoozy voice as he opened his eyes. "Whoa...why are you guys hovering around me like that?"

Noticing all three of us were a bit too close for comfort, Piper and I took a step back while Reks got up and walked over to a tree, looking it over due to its half frozen half spring like form.

"How'd you get out of that pit, dude?!" I asked him as he frowned and, after a moments hesitation, answered.

"Remember, Breeze. I got magic in my veins!" He answered dramatically, making me chuckle at his silliness, though Piper seemed less than enthused at his attitude.

"You could've died, you know. And your just joking like that?" She exclaimed, causing Mitch to give her a devious grin.

"Ya know, if you didn't have a 'totally real boyfriend' I'd assume you were worried about me out of affection. But since you do have one, I'm gonna play it safe and assume your just worried because its your job." He told her, getting a soft kick in the side from her in return.

"It's because we're friends, you dork." She said with her tongue sticking out before turning around and walking back towards the mouth of the cave alongside Reks, who had snagged a branch from the tree he was looking at before.

Mitch went to start to get up, so I wrapped my hooves under his arms and lifted him up with my wings, allowing him to get to his feet faster.

"Thanks, man!" He stated, but before he could walk off I flew in front of him.

"Mitch...was it really ok to leave you in the cave back there? I know what you told me, but I was just worried...you know?" I told him, feeling stupid talking about this to him.

Suprisingly, he didn't make fun of me for asking him that. Instead he out a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"Relax, Breeze. I wouldn't had told you to go if I didn't want you to do so. And besides, if you didn't care you wouldn't be making this awkward scene right now, correct?"

"Yeah, your rig-Hey!" I exclaimed as he laughed and went on after the dogs, though I noticed he hobbled slightly with each step.

Is he really ok?

Author's Note

OK! So quick apologies are in order.

This was supposed to come out 2 weeks ago, but three things happened.

1-Family issues
2-I wrecked my car on the median of a highway
3-I got acute respiratory infection over break.

All of that kept me from writing, which is why this is sooooo late. Thankfully, I'm back in college and (mostly) better, so things should be good from here on out.

Enjoy the chapter! and p.s, as mentioned above I'm not at 100% so there may be a few errors I missed in my run through. Sorry in advance!

EDIT: I forgot to do this before, but I planned on putting in a link to a HiE story that's absolutely amazing! It's complete too, so it's definitely worth checking out! Here's the link to it: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/418881/crossing-the-trixie-bridge

Trust me, you'll want to read this! It's inspired most of my works!

Chapter 10: Ventures in the Crystal Empire Pt.2

Mitch POV<<<<<<

"Thanks for bailing us out of that, Reks." I told my rather smug looking companion as we walked down one of the bigger streets of the city. "Though, I didn't know you were a walking piggy bank."

Back at the Cafe, Reks had managed to pop out a few coins and gave them to our waitress. Apparently, he had the currency for this kingdom on him at all times. And since it was a type of metal, he could pop it out of his body whenever he pleased.

Reks snorted at the comment before he suddenly stopped suddenly and looked around, his ears moving a bunch before he turned his head to me and narrowed his eyes, lifting up his right paw and rotating one of his fingers around.

"What?" I asked him before I began to look around, realizing that even though we were on what looked like the shopping district of the Empire there was not a soul to be seen anywhere.

"Where the hell is everyone? I know it's a bit cloudy and all, but it's still the middle of the day!" I exclaimed as Reks shook his head and motioned for me to follow him.

A couple of silent minutes later and we found out why there was a huge lack of ponies around as we made it to the center of the crystal city. It looked like the whole kingdom was currently standing outside the castle thing ahead of us, each of them standing in line side by side in an almost military fashion.

"Five of those weird coins you popped out of your fur that they are rioting about something." I told Reks, getting a chuckle and a nod of agreement from him as we got closer to the crowd. "Think someone here knows about my arm?" I asked Reks as I attempted to figure out who to approach, getting only a shrug out of him as I settled on a nearby blue pony with two shades of grey in their mane.

Tapping the pony on the shoulder, I gave them a casual smile and a wave as they turned and faced us.

"Hey, would you mind answering a few questions I have?" I asked the pony as they tilted their head and squinted up at me.

"Only if you tell me what kind of diamond dog you are. I've never seen your breed before." The female sounding pony answered in a slightly monotone voice, almost as if she was angry about something and was restraining her tone.

"Well, I'm one of a kind, and no dog." I told her as I heard Reks scoff at that. "But what about you? Why are you and the rest of yall outside the castle?"

Please be a riot Please be a riot!

Her eyes lit up as she pointed a hoof at the castle ahead of us. "We're here for the Crystalling! The princess and prince have had a baby, and its tradition for them to use the love for that child to power to Crystal Heart!"

Excuse me, what? I thought, raising an eyebrow at the rather...silly reason for everyone being out here. Guess Im bankrupt to a fucking dog now.

"So, the ENTIRE city is out here to watch some ceremony about a couple powering a rock off of love?" I asked incredulously as the mare in front of me nodded, though the frown on her face told me she had caught on to my disbelief.

"Of course we are. It's our job as citizens of the empire to support our princess anyway we can!" She exclaimed with pride, deciding to ignore my skeptical mindset as she gave a me a slightly forced grin. "Anything else you needed to know, stranger?"

"Yeah, actually. Do you know about anybody around here that would be well versed in magic? Like a wizard or something?" I asked the mare as she tapped her chin in thought before pointing down a side road that veered off to the left of the castle grounds.

"There's a unicorn that stays holed up in that little house of his down that street." She answered before pointing at her eye with a hoof. "Keep your eyes peeled though, it's much smaller than most of the houses around it and you might pass it."

Smiling, I gave the mare a nod and a quick thanks as I turned towards Reks, who had been looking past the crowd and over what whatever they were fixated on.

"Alright, let's go." I told him, getting a sigh of relief from him as we began to go down the street the mare had pointed out. "So, what do you think the guy were looking for will look like?" I asked my canine companion, who stopped in his tracks at the question before motioning his paws beneath his chin as if he was stroking a beard.

"So, some guy with a long beard?" I stated as he then bent over forward slightly and let off a weak groan as he hobbled around me. "Oh! An OLD guy with a long beard!" I exclaimed with a laugh as Reks gave me a sly grin, continuing at a moderate pace down the road we were traveling as I followed closely behind on his right side, scanning houses for any small buildings.

However, a couple steps in I was revisited by that aching feeling in my legs, causing me to slow down slightly as I tried to push the sensation out of my mind.

C'mon, it doesnt even hurt that much, Mitch! Just shrug off the damned pain and keep going!" I thought to myself with a quiet moan of pain under my breath, which ended up being less quiet than I wanted it to be.

With his ears suddenly turning towards me, Reks halted again and gave me a questioning glance as he pointed at me and huffed.

"I'm alright." I told him through gritted teeth as his gaze became a glare as he walked over to me and pushed me on the ground. 'Hey! What do you think your-?"

I was cut off in suprise as Reks knelt down and began to massage different parts of my right leg before stopping right above my tendons when I felt a sense of relief at the pressure applied there.

"What the hell, man? Are you giving me a fucking massage in the middle of the street?" I asked through bated breath as Reks switched legs as he looked up at me and nodded before returning his eyes to my leg.

Great. Im supposed to be looking for a unicorn, not getting kneeded by a fucking metal bending dog on a crystal paved street! I thought in exasperation before blinking slightly and running those words back through my head again. Never figured that would be a sentence I would say anytime in my life.

As I came to terms with how weird my life was, Reks finished working on my leg and stood up before his body glowed slightly, replacing his tunic with his armour as he waved a paw over it and pointed at my legs.

"What are you trying to tell me?" I asked, standing up as I looked his armour over. "I know you wear that armour as a soldier, but what does that have to-Oh!" I exclaimed suddenly, smacking my head as it came to me. "Your an officer, right? And I'm sure you've had subordinates with similar leg pains before due to whatever drills you've done!"

Reks gave me a smile and made his armour melt back into his fur (Which was a mix of disturbing and awesome to watch), returning the blue tunic back on his blackened fur while I stood up and stretched my legs.

Well, whatever he did, it worked! That stupid ache isnt there anymore. I thought before facing Reks and pointing my normal finger at him.

"Two things: One, that's awesome as hell. Two, don't push me to the ground, even if you have a good reason behind it, your lucky I didn't slam my head on the road." I stated, getting a both a nod and a sheepish whimper from Reks before he looked past me with a squint.

Turning to see what he was facing, I noticed a small road that lead off the main street. There were a couple of doors that led into houses along the grass bordered crystal path,(Don't ask me how there's grass growing on crystal, because I have no clue how botany works) though there was a singular house that stood at the end of the path.

Compared to the shiny houses around it, this one seemed intent on being in the shadows on purpose by design. It was much smaller than the houses surrounding it, and the green and orange colors of the house were dim and didn't help brighten up the alleyway at all. The only thing special about the house was that, for whatever reason, the makers of the house put a fucking wizards hat as the roof. Sure, it was made of crystal, but a damned wizards hat?

How nerdy does someone have to be to have that made for them? Because that's the first wizard house I have seen since I've been here.

Glancing back at Reks, I couldn't help but shake my head at the sheer wackiness that was now my life.

"Welp, I am absolutely sure that's the place we're looking for." I said as I walked down the alleyway, hearing a grunt of agreement from Reks as he followed me. "All we have to do is meet our resident unicorn and get him to help out with my magic dilemma, and we are set!"

Stopping at the front door of the house, which had a image of a sun shining down from its top on it, I pulled out my phone and looked at the first objective on the checklist Wackjob gave me.

1. Find the wizard of the sun I thought as I heard Reks suddenly growl and turn to the alleyway entrance.

"Um...who are you?" I heard a female voice ask, causing me to look up from my phone at the source of the voice.

What the hell?

Standing in front of Reks and I was another duo, except neither of them looked like the locals. One was a unicorn mare, though her pink fur and purple mane were a brighter color than any of the locals I had seen before, especially with that blue streak going through her mane.

The second figure was a small lizard thing. It had purple scales with what had to be green fins running down his head and back and was currently carrying a scroll in his claws as he seemed to be glaring at Reks.

"Uh...My name is Mitch, and this is Reks." I stated, sliding my phone in my sweatpsnts pocket and pointing to me and my companion respectively. "We're here to see a unicorn wizard about a magic-based problem, does that ring any bells?"

"What does a diamond dog and...whatever you are want with Sunburst anyway?" The lizard asked in a very unfriendly tone as he pointed at us, letting his little scroll droop a bit in his other claw.

Sunburst? So we're on the right track then. I thought with a smile as the mare tilted her head slightly.

"I thought diamond dogs couldn't use magic?" She asked as Reks snorted and did that little trick he does with his armour, summoning it in seconds and making both of their jaws drop.

"Tada! We're a little bit different than the average dog and man combo." I stated with a smile as I pointed a crystal finger at the little lizard guy. "But whats with the hostility, dude? We haven't done anything to you or your pony friend."

The lizard huffed and narrowed his eyes at Reks again, getting the dog to growl in return.

"All diamond dogs do is steal gems and kidnap ponies. They're nothing but trouble." He stated, causing me to remember what Zephyr and Bertha had looked like in shackles. "I should know, they kidnapped my friend Rarity a couple years ago." He stated as the mare looked down at her friend in shock.

"They what?!" She exclaimed before turning back to us with a glare of her own. "Step away from that house, now."

"What? You think were here to kidnap your buddy? Look at my damn hand, unicorn!" I exclaimed, raising my crystal arm and waving it around. "I ended up with this and have barely any idea how to use this, so we came her for answers!" I dropped my crystal hand and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "And I sure as hell ain't leaving without any."

For a moment, no one said anything. We all just stood there, waiting for the other to make the first move. Then, after looking at my arm for a while, the unicorn sighed and stepped forward.

"Can I look at your arm? I want to be sure your telling the truth." She asked me as I warily lifted my arm up so she could see it. She walked up to it before tapping her now glowing horn against the crystal, holding it there for a moment before looking at it in shock.

"I can't believe it! You have a artifical magic core! But how did you manage to..." She trailed off as her horn shined green for a second, making her remove it from my hand and receding back next to her friend. "T-Thats a Dark core."

I nodded. "Yeah, so? It's the only core I could get."

The unicorn shook her head. "And it doesn't bother you that you have literal darkness just built up in your appendage?"

Does it bother me? I thought, looking at the crystal for a moment before shaking my head and returning my gaze to the mare.

"No. It's what I needed to survive, and it's why I am standing here now. Consequences be damned, I need this thing to help me get home." I said, earning a pat on the back from Reks while the unicorn sighed.

"Well, your magic story checks out from as far as I can tell, and you definitely don't look the part of the evil bad guy either." She said, causing me to look myself over.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, looking over my dirty sweats and T-shirt with frown. I mean. they WERE dirty, but that doesn't mean I'm some sort of hobo on the streets.

Reks, however, found that comment hilarious, as he was now wheezing to himself. Hell, even the damned lizard was giggling slightly, and he's scrawnier than I am!

Crossing my arms, I groaned at the light teasing that was occurring.

"See what you started, unicorn." I stated as said pony giggled to herself, though it was on a lesser degree than the two stooges nearby. "Now my prides been damaged." This made Reks howl even louder as he ignored my furious glare in his direction.

"I meant that as a compliment, Mitch." She said before clearing her throat and extending her hoof. "I'm Starlight, by the way, not just Unicorn."

Accepting the hand(Hoof?)shake, I smiled at the mare, though I noticed that the lizard had finished laughing and was giving me and Reks the same distrustful gaze again.

How big is the stick that's in this dudes ass?

"Now that we got that settled, how about we visit your little friend." I said, ignoring the dragon and turning towards the door, knocking on it three times.

"Well, he's not exactly my friend just yet, but we used to know each other back when we were young." Starlight said, though there was a hint of melancholy in her tone at the end of her sentence.

But before I could ask about the shift in her mood, the door opened slowly, with a yellow unicorn sticking his VERY unkempt face out of the doorway.

"Hello?" He asked before looking at me in shock, allowing me to see he was wearing the same glasses one would find on Harry Potter. "Excuse me for asking, but what are you?"

Giving the guy a smile, I waved my crystal hand.

"Hey! Names Mitch, and I got a couple questions about magic, mind if we come in?" I asked him as he looked past me to see each of us, though he lingered on Starlight for a moment longer than anyone else.

"Um...Sure!" He stated as he opened the door and walked into his house.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside, knowing that one way or another I was going to get answers on my core.

I need to make this core stronger. The sooner I finish with it, the sooner I can try and return home.

Author's Note

Well well well, looks like "Main characters" are starting to appear. (Don't get too used to it, Mitch and Reks just happen to be there at the same time Starlight and Spike arrive to Reunite Starlight with Sunburst.)

If this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, that's because finals are this week. I wanted to get this out before I get slammed, so be thankful I didn't end up postponing it instead, lol.

Things will be picking in speed next chapter though, considering we ALL know what a certain Alicorn baby is about to break.

As always, if there are any errors or questions, feel free to comment!

See yall next time or whatever

Chapter 11: Ventures in the Crystal Empire Pt.3

Zephyr Breeze POV<<<<<<

Dropping from the sky, I had finally managed to find the mane school after almost thirty minutes of searching, which the similar building styles that the Empire had definitely didn't help.

However, near the western edges of the city there was a singular green building with three floors that were a far cry from the single story houses that were around it. Even the shine of the crystals that lined the walls was more impressive than its neighbors!

This has to be the place! I exclaimed in my head as my eyes laid on a symbol of a pair of scissors and a comb crossed over each other above the doorway into the building, along with the words Crystal Cheveu in that font style prench ponies use whenever they think they're better than everypony.

Trotting towards the entrance, I couldn't help but notice that even the grass on the front yard looked really well attended, at least compared to the rest of the empire where flora is allowed to grow at any speed it wants to combat the snow outside.

Must be one of those high society places then...hopefully I dont stand out too much here. I thought with a frown before I was stopped by two big ponies I had managed to somehow not notice were standing at the doorway.

"Hold it, Bud. Who are you?" One of them, a burly red earth pony asked as he looked me over with a hint of disdain.

"Oh! I'm a new student here!" I told the stallion as his blue hued unicorn compatriot, who was not as burly but had a rocking handlebar mustache, squinted his eyes at me.

"You got an acceptance letter on you, pegasus?" He asked me, making me smile as I reached for the duffel bag on my back.

"Of course I-" I started happily, before freezing in shock as I remembered what had happened to our supplies when leaving the cave.

My duffel is gone...stuck at the bottom of that pit Mitch fell into, alng with my invitation to the school!

Noticing my lack of movement, the blue unicorn walked up and poked my side a few times.

"You still breathing, colt?" He asked as I shook out of my stupor and gave him a weak smile.

"Y-Yeah...Um, what if I told you two that I had lost my invitation to come here, but I did in fact get one?" I asked them as they glanced at each other for a moment before they both narrowed their eyes at me.

"No invitation, no entry." The red pony stated, taking a step to the left while his blue friend took one to the right, effectively blocking the door entirely.

"Cmon! I've been through Tartarus and back to get here!" I exclaimed as memories of the obstacle few days flooded my head. "I was enslaved by dogs, and almost died in a minecart for Lunas sake!"

The blue pony sighed, looking at me with what had to be pity. "Did you happen to register by mail? If so, I can go check and see if your name is in the freshpony list." He asked as I lowered my head in defeat.

"No...I was coming here to register in pony. I didn't exactly have an address to mail by." I told them as the red brute simply shook his head.

"Then there is nothing we can do for you. Have a great day, Sir." He said as they both looked straight ahead, ignoring me and returning to their vigilant post in front of the school.

Opening my mouth to say more, but deciding against it, I turned around and took off into the air, noticing it was harder to fly than usual thanks to the buildup of moisture in my eyes.

"Damned minecart..." I muttered, flying with no real destination in mind as I soared past several clouds and birds. "Why does this crap always happen to me?!"

Wiping the water from my eyes (It was water, I swear! You try flying through some clouds without getting wet!) I found myself looking down along the crystal paved streets, which were weirdly empty for the middle of the day.

"Why isn't there anypony out right now?" I thought aloud as I started to hear a familiar zooming sound approaching rapidly, something that sounded like-

"Rainbow Dash?" I questioned, turning towards the sound only to be hit by a yellow blur, causing both me and the assailant to crash land on a rooftop, sending up dust as we collided with the crystal slab.

"Oooooh...what the buck did I hit?" A feminine voice stated as I shook my head and looked around, noticing another pegasus doing the same before she looked towards me. "Hey! What the buck were you doing being stagnant in a fly zone!"

In pain and definitely not in the mood for this mares crap, I found myself standing up and narrowing my eyes at the light blue pegasus as I felt my feathers ruffle up slightly.

"Me? Your blaming ME for you slamming into me midair?" I yelled as I pointed at the sky and the city below us. "If you haven't noticed, no ones out here! You could've just went around me!"

"Kinda hard take those adjustments when flying at breakneck speeds, ya know! You should've just been more aware of your surroundings." She retorted as I let out a frustrated yell and turned away from her while spreading my wings.

"You know what, I can't deal with this right now." I said before taking off again, ignoring the pegasus and her retreating voice as I flew towards the castle, keeping my eyes on the roads as I looked for a familiar face on the road.

"Piper, Reks and Mitch have to still be in the empire...but where?" I muttered just as I saw Piper standing near a shop on the main road to the castle. "There we go! Hey Pip-"

Just as I was about to call out to her, a unicorn stepped out from the shop she was near and gave her the bag in his magical grasp, only to receive a big hug from Piper after she looked inside at its contents, causing the unicorn to blush slightly before returning the hug.

"Is that...No way." I whispered, perching on a rooftop nearby and watching the two from afar. That unicorn couldn't be the stallion Piper said she was dating...right?

Taking a closer look at the unicorn, he did have that fluffed up alabaster fur that drove mares wild, along with what had to be a perfectly combed yellow mane that reflected off of his black tie he was wearing.

"Who the buck is that?" A familiar feminine voice asked, making me yelp in shock (Not fear, by the way) as I turned towards the source with wide eyes.

"You!" I exclaimed, pointing at the mare who had crashed into me before. "What do you want?"

She shushed me and pointed at the couple below. "Quiet, you'll let them know we're here...though I've never seen a pony with a dog before."

Sighing to myself, I shook my head. "That's Piper. Her and two other friends of mine helped me get here, though she never said she was dating a noble-class pony."

The mare chuckled as we watched them walk towards the castle with Piper leaving a paw on the stallions withers with a bigger smile on her face than I had seen since meeting her.

"Noble-Class? That explains why the colt looks like one of those magezine stallions." The mare stated with a laugh before turning to me. "Name's Lightning Dust."

I gave the mare a long stare before sticking out my hoof. "Zephyr Breeze...but why did you follow me?"

Lightning Dust looked at my hoof for a moment before reaching out and shaking it with a almost silent sigh.

"I've been looking for somepony for a while now...and just before I crashed into you I thought I had heard you say her name." Lightning Dust told me as I frowned for a second before realizing what she was talking about.

"Your looking for Rainbow Dash? But why?" I questioned her further. "Are you guys friends?"

"Something like that...Let's just say we have a lot to catch up on." Lightning Dust answered as she shook her head and pointed to the retreating couple. "But hey! I can find her later. Let's follow that weirdo couple you know and see what they do next!"

I grimaced slightly at that, my ears flattening to the sides of my head as I thought about what would happen if Piper caught us spying on her.

"Um...I'm not sure that's a good idea, especially with-Whoa!" I exclaimed, taking a step back as I saw a yellow beam shoot straight out of the castle up ahead and into the sky. "What the heck was that?"

"I don't know, but it looked awesome!" Lighting Dust stated before lifting up into the air and looking back at me. "You coming or not? I wanna see where they are going next!"

Realizing she was going to go with or without me, I groaned and took to the air with a flap of my wings, causing the lighter blue pegasus to cheer as we followed after Piper and her stallion.

Why is everything in my life so complicated? Things were never this hard back with Mom and Dad! I couldn't help but think as we took to the air, praying to Luna that nothing bad came of this.

Mitch POV<<<<<<

After entering the wizards abode, I quickly realized that the guy needed a fucking maid.

There were books EVERYWHERE! And I'm not talking about on bookshelves either, they were in stacks all over the place at heights that could match Bertha anytime! Not to mention it looked like random paper and other utensils were scattered haphazardly as well.

"Ya know, for a wizard this dude has a really messy house." I whispered to Reks as Starlight sat down at a table with Starburst. Noticing a lack of extra stools, Reks and I stood to the side while the little lizard dude started rolling out a ginormous list on a scroll.

Reks snickered at my comment before he turned and grabbed a book off of one of the piles and opened it, the cover title flashing before my eyes for a brief second as he began to read.

10 ways to get that special somepony to recognize you, guaranteed!

OK, so the wizard also hasn't gotten laid either...dude must be a closet nerd or something.

Turning my attention away from Reks, I noticed that Starlight and the Sunburst guy were sitting awkwardly at the table, as if they couldn't find a way to talk to each other...and it was getting annoying.

"Ok!" I stated loudly, walking over to the table and getting on my knees (Which suprisingly made it to where I was at level with the two unicorns). "Check this out, wizard guy."

Placing my crystal arm on the table, I watched as Sunburst's eyes widened and he looked my arm over enthusiasticly.

"This...This is an artifical magic core! But that means you were born without one..." He looked up at me with a confused expression. "What did you say you were again?"

"Human, but don't bother looking me up. I'm one of a kind." I told him as he shook his head with a suprised smile on his face.

"This is incredible! I never imagined I'd find a unique specimen and a childhood friend of mine on the same day!" He exclaimed happily as he pulled out a couple books with his magic and put them on the table. "Now, what kind of magic core is it?"

"What type? there are magic types?" I asked him, getting a unblinking stare from the unicorn as Starlight spoke up.

"Most magic cores fall into six categories, Mitch, based on the six tenants or Elements of Harmony" Starlight explained as I turned to her. "Cores can be originated from Magic, Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, or Generosity."

What...

"Why those names? No offense, but that sounds like something I'd hear in a little kids show." I asked the mare as Sunburst shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't really have an answer for that. It's just what's in all the magic books, even the history tomes don't date that far." The wizard said as he shook his head. "Regardless, those six types won't help us here anyway."

Narrowing my eyes slightly at that, I looked down at my arm briefly before looking back at the Sunny D stallion while Starlight looked equally confused

"Why is that, exactly?" I asked him as he pushed up his glasses and gave me That smile all big brain people do when they are about to explain something complicated.

"Well, your core is an artifical one, meaning that it has to be one made of dark magic." He started as he levitated a book to him and opened it. "For Dark magic, there are six counter elements to the categories Starlight listed earlier."

Starlight tilted her head, looking at Starburst in an admittedly adorable way as she processed that information.

"Six counter elements? You mean like anti Elements of Harmony?" She asked the wizard as Starburst nodded and tapped the book twice as he stopped flipping through the pages.

"Here they are! There's Greed for Generosity, Infidelity for Loyalty, Malice for Kindness, Deceit for Honesty, Misery for Laughter, and Solitary magic to Friendship magic." He listed out before closing the book. "Sadly, it doesnt go into detail about each particular magic type, just stating that they are the opposite of their counterpart and need to be feared."

"But...everything you listed are pretty much negative emotions or traits, and I don't recall really being like any of those personally." I told him, reflecting on my own actions up to this point while looking at the table.

Had I been acting like any of those? Or is this more little kid stuff that Im overthinking? I thought to myself as Starlight tapped her chin softly.

"What if you were overwhelmed by one of those emotions when you got your core?" She asked me as thought back to when I went into the magic pool back in the cave.

I passed that pony guys test, then got my core...but I dont really recall any negative emotions swirling inside me or anything, except maybe mass confusion for all of this magic stuff.

"No, the only thing I did then was pass some test and get lowered into some glowing water that made this." I waved my crystal arm around. "I didn't get any magic feelings or anything."

"Magic water? Why does that sound familiar..." He trailed off as he turned and looked through several stacks of books for a moment before turning back to me. "I think I've read something like that before in a book at the royal library here in the Empire, and I'm sure there were more of those pools you mentioned."

My eyed widened in shock as I stood up, noticing out of the corner of my eye that the lizard had fallen asleep and currently had several books on his head thanks to a bored Reks placing them there.

"You think this book might help me find the rest of these pools?" I asked him as Starlight narrowed her eyes slightly at me.

"Why would you want to find more of these pools?" She asked sternly as I turned to her with a glare of my own

"Calm down, Unicorn. I'm not trying to become some evil overlord, I just need to get better control of this core so I can go home, and finding these pools is one way to do so." I told her before looking back at Sunburst. "Do you have anything else that can help us?"

Sunburst shook his head, legitimately looking regretful that he couldn't be of more help.

"Everything I told you is all the books I have state...but the library at the castle here has what I don't, that's your best bet." He said before I nodded and stuck out my normal hand.

"Then you have my thanks, wizard!" I said as he looked at my hand with wide eyes before shaking it glee.

"No problem, friend! If you have any other questions about magic, feel free to come find me." He stated as I retreated my hand and turned to Starlight.

"Reks and I will be heading out now, so take care." I told her, getting a smile from the pink pony.

"You too, Mitch. I hope you make it home sometime soon." She said as Reks opened the door for us and we walked out of the house, though not before I let out a loud whistle, waking up the lizard and causing the books on his head to come crashing down.

"AGH! What the?!" I heard him yell out as the door closed behind us, causing Reks to snicker to himself while we turned back on the main road.

"Well, looks like we're going to the castle then." I stated as I looked up at the ginormous blue building in the center of the city, though I couldn't help but feel something stirring inside me as I did so.

Shaking it off, I turned to Reks and got a nod from him, signaling he was ready to go, though an idea popped in my head as he did so.

"Say, the castle is pretty far...and your a military dog, right?" I stated as I got a confused growl from my companion. "Why don't I race you there? We've been doing nothing but walking and sitting all day, and I could use the run."

And if the townsfolk were still at the castle, that meant the roads were empty, perfect for a race through the city.

Reks gave me a toothy grin as he and I took our places shoulder to shoulder and got into that bent over position runners do at the Olympics.

"First one to touch one of the castles walls wins, alright?" I stated, getting a bark from Reks as I began to count down.

"Three...TwoOneGo!" I yelled quickly before bursting forward as I heard Reks growl in suprise behind me before chasing after me.

Middle school track, dont fail me now!

Meanwhile, nearby Ponyville<<<<<<

With an audible snap, Discord appeared in the middle of the grassy terrain alongside the chamomile tea set he had gotten at the store from Canterlot (What? The lord of chaos can't go shopping like a normal pony every now and then?)

Snapping a blanket onto the ground, Discord smiled at his work as he looked around for his teamate

"Now, where could little Fluttershy be? She's never late to teatime, and it's half past noon!" Discord muttered as he donned a fancy outfit that would make the nobles of Canterlot green with envy (literally if the lord of chaos wanted it so) as he pulled out a pocketwatch and looked it over, confirming his previous statement.

"Hm...This really is-hold on." Discord started before noticing something odd. With another snap of his talon Discord had teleported across the field and towards a bird that was frozen in air midflight. "I don't recall doing that...which means-"

Turning around quickly, Discord found himself staring back at the tea setup, only now there was a jet black unicorn with a green tuxedo on staring up at him with eerie blue eyes.

"Ah, Discord. Mind joining me for tea?" He asked as Discord slowly floated over and grabbed a cup of tea, his eyes never leaving the new guest.

"What are you doing here?" Discord asked before taking a sip of the still hot tea, barely holding back a sigh of contentment from doing so.

The unicorn laughed softly and shook his head.

"Aw, I thought we were friends, Discord?" He asked in a silk-strong tone that would make mares swoon. Thankfully, Discord decided to be a male today, so his whiles wouldn't work on him.

"I'm not friends with people who think they can play games with others lives." Discord said, not seeing the irony in his words as the stallion simply shrugged.

"Well, that's just cruel. I don't mess with the lives of my children, I simply watch over all of you to make sure my little world's dont disappear or fall to darkness." The unicorn stated before, in the blink of an eye, had transformed into a black minotaur with the same tuxedo on. "And besides, you get along with Celestia in this world, and she's no better than I am."

Discord crossed his arms as his teacup did a midair waltz back to the ground. "Celestia also doesn't abandon her student, unlike someone in front of me."

The minotaur narrowed his eyes for a second before picking up a tea cup and sipping from it for a while before putting it down.

"We both know my students needed to develop on their own, that's why I gave them those books." He stated before looking towards Canterlot. "Oh, and how's Mitch doing?"

Discord had been going for his teacup again, but froze at the sound of the humans name.

"So that's why your here."

The minotaur had turned into a crow-like griffon when Discord averted his eyes, and was now laying on the grass.

"Indeed. This world is going to be tested soon, and that human you brought here will be at the epicenter." The bird stated as Discord shook his head.

"Mitch won't want to take part in your games, you know. All he wants right now is to head home." Discord stated as The griffon changed forms again, this time taking the form of a dark-tonned human as he wiped the dirt off his still green tuxedo.

"He has no choice, Discord. One of the world's have already cleared their test, thanks to a that kid and his two brothers, and this one is soon to follow." The man stood up, looking down at the six rings on his right hand before rubbing the yellow one.

With a flash of light, a yellow portal appeared behind the man as he stood and gave the lord of chaos a simple smile.

"Keep watch over the kid, Discord. And when the time comes, you'll know what to do." The man stated before walking through the portal.

As soon as the portal dissipated, everything around Discord went back to normal. The birds returned their course, the air felt breathable again, and...

"Wait a second!" Discord stated as he realized where his friend was. "Fluttershy isn't even in town! She's up north in the empire where...Mitch...is."

Discord stood up straight, snapping a talon and clearing up the tea set instantly.

"It's about time my little worker met his boss." Discord stated with a smile as he snapped a signed contract into existence and looked it over. "Yes, that does sound like a good plan, doesnt it?"

No one answered as the Lord of Chaos tucked it away in his rather small amount of hair and flew off towards the frigid north of Equestria.

Author's Note

Well, I can say with full authority that I am done with my first year of college! And holy crap was it stressful.

Hopefully this means I can get around to writing more. There was a lot I wanted to write here but I've let yall wait long enough so I decided to cap it there with Discord. Next chapter, we'll have Mitch arriving at the castle...where most of the main cast is right now (Wonder how that will go down?)

Starlight and Spike stayed behind with Sunburst (for obvious reasons) and Discord met up with a one of a kind face. (That guy isn't too important to the story, but he does have merit.)

Other than that, I got nothing else for yall! Hope yall have a great day!

p.s: too tired to spellcheck so feel free to notify me of anything like that, or just comment anyway!

Chapter 12: The calm before...

Mitch's POV<<<<<<

"Stupid...*Pant*...Dog and his military training." I couldn't help but grunt out as I was hunched over by one of the castles four supporting legs.

Honestly, I had no one but to blame but myself for trying to win a foot race with a dog. Especially if said dog has had any training that resembles what the U.S does with its recruits.

Still, he didn't need to beat me as bad as he did. It took me TEN minutes to catch up with the dog at the castle! Thank goodness no one was watching.

Looking up from my defeated state, I could see Reks stretching out his legs as he kept a smug grin on his face.

Yeah, Easy to be smug when you move as fast as a car.

"Ya know." I stated, removing myself from the pillar and walking over to the armored canine. "You could've told me you were going to run on all fours."

Stopping his post run stretch, Reks gave me a narrowed stare that I couldn't help but shake my head at.

"Fair enough, I did give myself a head start at the beginning." I said with a sigh as I looked up at the giant castle looming over us. "So this is the heart of the empire, huh."

Reks shook his head and pointed behind him at a small crystal heart that was floating in between two blue spikes. Centered at the middle of the castle structure, it seemed to be giving off a calming feel as I kept my eyes on it.

"Oh...the heart of the empire is literally a heart, who would've thought?"

Turning me back towards him, Reks pointed ahead at one of the leftmost castle pillars that had a door carved into it.

"Wait, we can just enter the castle?" I asked as Reks nodded in response. "Why? wouldn't the guards keep us out?"

Reks shook his head and pointed to himself as he walked towards the doors, leaving me to follow behind as I watched the dog carefully.

"Such a weird mutt." I whispered as I followed him into the castle and up one of those circular flight of stairs until we entered a hallway at the top.

"Whoa, now this is snazzy!" I exclaimed as my eyes darted from the purple carpeting to the blue crested walls and crystal chandeliers. "If this was earth this place would be worth a fortune!"

As we had began to walk through the hallway a group of six purple ponies marched past us with light grey armour on their chests and military haircuts, with the blue and red manes being the only way to tell them apart.

As they past by us, each one gave Reks and I a passing glance, though all of the ones directed to me seemed far less respectful and more on the lines of either curiosity or disgust.

Watching them descend down the staircase, I turned to Reks and pointed behind me.

"So, I take it those are the guards of this place?" I asked, earning a rather quick nod from my silent companion as he quickly turned away and walked down the hall.

Well, that was abrupt. I thought, noticing he seemed slightly put off as the guards had walked by. Maybe something happened between him and the guards here?

Looking between the exit and Reks, I shrugged it off and continued to follow Reks through the castle. As we moved, we ended up running into a couple of maids or guards here and there, each one looked as if they were preparing for something big.

As we turned what had to be the fiftieth corner, Reks finally stopped and pointed at two dark blue doors with small handles aligned on the middle.

"This is the library?" I asked Reks, not getting an answer from him as he pushed the doors open and walked inside. "Jeez, guess the guy feeling impatient today."

Walking inside, I felt my blood run cold as I looked upon hundreds and hundreds of books, each one of them inside these bookshelfs that reached all the way up to the ceiling!

"That's a lot of books." I said quietly as a grunt up ahead snapped me from my stupor, turning my attention to Reks as he climbed up to the second floor.

"All right, I'm coming." I called to him as I went deeper into the library, hoping to God that the place was well organized, or we'd be here for a looooong time.

Zephyr POV<<<<<<

Hiding on top of the tenth roof today, Lightning Dust and I peered down at the couple we had been stalking for the past twenty minutes or so.

"Ok, this is getting old." I complained as I turned to the yellow maned mare beside me, causing her to turn towards me with a confused look. "We've followed them for a while now, and nothings happened."

Lightning Dust waved me off as she quickly turned and pointed at the unicorn below.

"Shut up and look! The unicorn is doing something!" She stated like a child as I rolled my eyes and looked down into the plaza.

Piper was currently looking up at the roofs nearby while the unicorn she was with had his horn currently glowing a soft yellow. Before I could react Pipers gaze fell on mine and she pointed up at us.

"Buck." both Lighting Dust and I exclaimed as Piper motioned for the unicorn to look up at us, causing him to release the spell he had built up. Before we could fly off, a yellow light consumed us and teleported us down in front of the two, though Piper looked faaaar more pissed than the unicorn.

"Zephyr...do you want to explain why you and your friend here have been stalking us?" Piper stated hotly as the alabaster stallion, still wearing that black tie and his freshly combed mane, looked us over with moderate interest.

Quickly hovering up a couple feet, I gave Piper my best smile as I quickly tried to come up with an answer.

"W-well, you see...we happened to be in the area and saw you and this unicorn walking together, so we followed after you guys."

Not amused in the slightest, Piper turned to Lightning. "And you? What's your excuse?"

"Bored, so we followed you lovebirds." She stated simply, causing the stallion to chuckle to himself and gain the gaze of everypony around him.

"Why the buck are you laughing? They've been spying on us, Bluey!" Piper exclaimed in a foalish manner with puffed cheeks as the unicorn shook his head lightly.

"Quite simple, my love. I haven't seen such interesting characters since the Elements of Harmony first arrived at the Gala years ago." He said as he extended a hoof towards us. "My name is Blueblood, and you two are?"

Landing on the ground, I shook his hoof with a smile.

"Zephyr Breeze, and this is Lightning Dust. And Im so-"

"Wait, YOUR PRINCE BLUEBLOOD?!" Lightning Dust exclaimed as I looked between Blueblood and her in shock.

"Wait, he's a prince?" I yelled out as Piper shushed us both and looked around before letting out a sigh of relief as she realized no one was around.

"Will you two be quiet?! He gets enough attention without you yelling his name for everypony to hear!"

Standing on his hind legs, Blueblood nuzzled Pipers cheek. effectively calming her down as he returned to the ground and sighed, looking at us with a tired expression.

"Piper is quite right. I can barely go anywhere without someone recognizing me, let alone fanmares who want to shag with me for my title." He stated with a look of disgust and remembrance graced his face before he shook it off. "But that's neither here nor there, what matters most is what's in front of us now."

Grinning sheepishly, I couldn't help but paw at the ground under the royals gaze.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" I asked as Blueblood shook his head.

"Not at all...at least, as long as you help us out with something." Blueblood answered, snapping Lightning Dust out of her stupor as she narrowed her eyes at the prince.

"And to do what exactly? Some of us have things to do, you know?" She stated harshly, earning a glare from the unicorn.

"Such as stalking royalty, which can be considered a crime?" Blueblood snapped back, causing Lightning Dust to back down. "Thought so, now listen carefully." He cleared his throat before nodding at Piper. "As you figured out by now, Captain Piper and I are together." Blueblood started as Piper knelt down and hugged the prince.

"Happily together, I might add!" She said with a grin as she nuzzled Blueblood.

"R-Right, Dear." Blueblood stated with a blush before returning to his senses and continuing. "And I had gotten wind of there being a ceremony in the empire involving my cousin and her daughter Flurry Heart."

"The Crystalling." Lighting Dust stated as Blueblood smirked.

"So you've heard of it? Good, because I needed Pipers help to make sure everything runs smoothly the rest of the day." Blueblood said as I titled my head in confusion.

"Now, I get your here due to your family having the Crystalling and all, but why are you so invested in it?" I asked him as Piper released the prince and stood back up.

"To be honest, Bluey couldn't care less about the ceremony. He's just here to make sure history doesn't repeat itself is all." Piper stated with a far off look in her eyes as Blueblood put a hoof in her paw.

"I told you, nothing will happen to your clan, I'll make sure of it." The prince reassured Piper as he turned his head back to us. "At the last crystalling, history books speak of a great storm that broke out. The ponies, thanks to the crystal heart, managed to protect the empire...but the outside region of the North was left to freeze for the entirety of the storm."

Shivering slightly, Piper crossed her arms and looked towards the castle.

"That storm is fabled to have nearly wiped out our people entirely. If the Chief hadn't found the magic pool when he did..." Piper chuckled at my ever so confused look. "The chief is older than he looks, and was apparently in my military position at the time of the storm."

"So, he managed to survive freezing out due to...magic?" Lightning Dust asked as Piper nodded, turning to us with a smile.

"Indeed. From what the story books tell us, he had been seeking shelter from the cold in a cave up high when he stumbled upon a cavern filled with water that shined in the darkness." She said as I looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Wait...didn't you guys find us on a mountaintop with a magic pool in it? The same one that Mitch himself used to get his core?" I asked the captain, earning a confused grimace from Piper as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Perhaps...but there could've been more than one pool in those mountains." She said before turning to Blueblood. "Have you came across anything like that on your mapping trips?"

Mapping trips?

The prince looked up at Piper for a moment before shaking his head.

"Nothing like what you just described, and I've been to most of the world's leading countries."

"Wait, your a map maker too? I thought all you did was party and make laws?" Lightning Dust stated, causing Blueblood to burst out laughing.

"That's what the newspapers want you to believe, Dust." He said with a smug grin as his blue eyes began to sparkle. "Ever since I got this star on my flank, I've been called to the passions of mapping out the world." He breathed deeply for a moment before exhaling. "Most of the maps published are replicas of the one I have in my room back in Canterlot."

Noticing my look of shock he scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"Sorry about that, I get passionate about the things I care for, and I've been mapmaking since I was a foal."

Piper squeed and picked up the unicorn, hugging him to her chest as she wore a big smile, not paying attention to the fact the alabaster was slowly turning purple from lack of breath.

"That's my stallion! He helps our traders out by selling them maps in return for either knowledge from our tribes or visitation rights." She stated as I frowned.

"Visitation rights? What do you mean by-" Before I could finish, though, Piper cuts me off by clapping her paws together, releasing her now gasping coltfriend to the ground.

"But we've gotten off topic!" She exclaims before looking to Blueblood. "Shall we go to the castle now?"

Regaining his breath, Blueblood smiled at the captain.

"Lead the way, Love." He said with a wink as Piper giggled and began walking towards the castle while swaying her hips for her prince.

Blueblood turned to Lightning Dust and I and nodded, though I couldn't help but notice the red blush that had devoured much of his white coat.

"Come along. We have much to do and little time left to waste." He said as he followed after Piper, leaving me and Lightning Dust to follow in the lovers wake.

"Ugh...their so romantic with each other." The pegasus next to me gags as we follow behind in the air. "Makes me glad I'm single."

As she spoke, I couldn't help but watch the two closely as they spoke to each other and how close they seemed to be, and began to feel negative thoughts go through my head.

Would I ever get to be like that with Rainbow Dash, or even any mare? Or am I simply going to stay single forever?

Mitch POV<<<<<<

"Advanced guide to keeping your crystal roads polished?" I read aloud as I tossed the book off to the side with a groan. "Why does every book in this library involve crystals?!"

I looked over to the bookshelf on my right in time to see Reks giving me a 'nah duh' look as he put a magezine with a picture of a unicorn laying seductively on a couch to the side, though it looked like he had been browsing through it since it had several dog ears in the pages.

"Yeah yeah, Crystal Kingdom and all that. Still, wouldn't hurt for some variety!" I state before getting up and walking towards another bookshelf. "Now, let's see if-AGH!"

I felt my right leg go through the ground as I face-planted with the crystal flooring. Hearing Reks snickering behind me, I lifted my head off the ground and turned towards him.

"You son of a...why is there a hole in the floor?" I stated as I removed my leg from said hole and looked inside. "Whoa...come look at this."

Reks ceased his laughing and bear crawled over to me, looking down into the hole with wide eyes.

Looking into the hole, you could see at least several floors below as multiple holes aligned perfectly with each other were visible. It was as if someone had punched through ten pages in a book and the holes left behind were all the same.

"What the fuck do you think did that?" I asked as we backed away from the hole. Reks simply shrugged before turning to the nearest bookshelf and combing its covers.

"Your right, we need to stay focused." I turned back to the shelf I had been walking towards and looked at the first book I could see. "How I survived a royal kidnapping, a Cadenza story."

Taking the book and opening it, I was met with a disclaimer about how the events in the book were based on a real happenings and that if I know of any changelings or suspicious ponies that act like them to report them immediately.

"What the hell is a changeling?" I wondered before hearing a loud yelp. I turned towards Reks in time to see him collapse on his knees as he held his ears with his paws.

Rushing over to him, I knelt beside him and put an arm around the dog.

"Reks, what's happening?" I asked as he whimpered in reply. Looking around, I couldn't hear or see anything that could've caused this.

Wait...dogs can hear really well, right? maybe he's hearing something I cant? Perhaps a loud screech or something?

After a couple of minutes, Reks calmed down before looking up at a window that was nearby and running up towards it.

"What do you see, Reks?" I asked as I followed him to the window and peered out from over his shoulder, noticing a large amount of storm clouds quickly approaching from the corners of the kingdom.

Shit, that can't be good.

Author's Note

Well well well well, look who's back!

Sorry about the relatively short chapter (I wanted to write more, but figured I'd save all the drama for the next chapter.) But I am glad to state that I AM BACK! (Screw you, haitus! Your not killing off this author!)

My Creative juices are flowing again, so I pumped this bad boy out. Hopefully, there aren't too many errors (if so, please point them out so I can edit them.

Also, I'm giving a internet cookie to the first person to point out what caused Reks to bend over in pain.

But, as always, feel free to comment! I love hearing from you guys!

p.s: Hope yall like how I did blueballs. He's only going to get used more from here on out, so hope ya can stand him.

Chapter 13: The oncoming storm

Mitch POV<<<<<<

"So, I'm going to guess that storm coming isn't normal?" I asked aloud as I skimmed a couple titles regarding spells and alchemy, knowing full well I wouldn't get a verbal answer from my canine friend.

I wonder if he ever does speak...Gotta ask Piper about that next time I see her.

After seeing the storm out the window, Reks and I had came to the decision to hasten our search for the book, moving up a floor in as we searched for anything relating to Duisternis and my arm.

Getting a snort and a shrug from my companion as an answer, I turned my back to him as I went to the next bookshelf, only to notice a blue light glowing off of it.

"What the hell?" I muttered as I reached out and touched it with my crystal hand, only to retract it quickly after the hand began to sizzle.

"Fuck! The damn things got some kind of security measure over it." I stated, waving my hand slightly as Reks came over and looked it over. "Looks like we might have our book though...if we could get to it."

Reks pointed past me, causing me to turn my head sharply to the left just to see a line of bookcases with the same glow on them.

"Books locked away magically? Really?" I thought aloud, my mind flashing back to when I had watched Harry Potter with my family when I was a kid.

Good times.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I turned to my partner, pointing my thumb at the bookcase as I gave him a wry smile.

"So, got any bright ideas on how-" I went to ask, but was interrupted by what sounded like a rather loud commotion downstairs on the main floor.

"Young Filly! Get back here!"

Huh?

Carefully looking over the railing, I could make out what looked like a blue maned unicorn chasing after a...smaller pony with wings AND a horn? What the hell?

Just as the unicorn was about to catch the child, it disappeared in a flash of yellow light and appeared on the other side of the room, where a veeeery pink pony was standing and began to hop after the rather nimble little one.

"Come to your aunt Pinkie Pie!" The pink mare exclaimed joyfully as she chased the flying small pony down a row of bookshelves out of sight.

"What are they doing?" I whispered as Reks looked over the railing and pointed at another pink pony that was flying around and collecting books with what I'd guess is her magic, considering the horn.

Wings and a horn on her too? What kind of pony is that?

Taking a step back from the ledge, I turned to my stalwart companion and shook my head.

"We need to hurry up. I'm not sure who they are, but we don't need any distractions from the..." My voice trailed off as Reks simply stared at me, waiting for me to finish my thought.

"Uh, when did you get wings?" I stated as my eyes were drawn to the white wings that had spread from Reks' back.

With his eyes widening, Reks quickly did a three-sixty trying to grab the wings before that same small pony flew out from behind him and looked directly at me with big wide eyes.

It was a little white furred pony with a cotton candy mix of blue and purple hair. The odd part was that she had wings AND a horn...was that normal? I couldn't remember if it was.

If it is...then why am I slowly beginning to feel stressed out looking at this kid?

"Oooookay, so you have to be a baby, right?" I asked it as the small pony garbled out nonsense in a response before giggling, elicting a face-palm from myself. "Right, babies don't speak."

Just as Reks was about to grab the child, the baby took in several deep breaths as her nose began to scrunch up, causing my eyes to widen.

"Get down!" I dropped quickly in a squat as the baby sneezed, only instead of avoiding baby snot I saw my shadow illuminated on the ground for a split second as a yellow beam shot over my head and into the bookcase behind me.

Quickly standing up, after making sure I wasn't going to die by baby, I looked at the babbling child in shock.

"This things a fucking demon." I whispered in absolute awe of it as Reks had retreated several yards away from me and the baby and was watching from afar.

Really, man? The Dog can handle wolves without issue but flees from a baby?

Just as I was about to say something to Reks, the baby giggled before beginning to glow yellow again, disappearing in a flash all the while allowing me to let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Why the hell is my heart racing?I thought, a hand on my heart as I took a moment to slow my breathing and calm down.I mean, I get she sneezed out a beam and all, but the feeling had began the moment I saw the horn and wings...

Amid my thoughts, I noticed that the blue glow that was over the bookcase was completely gone, most likely thanks to the sneeze beam from the little pony that was just here.

"Looks like something good can come from children after all." I chuckled as I skimmed over some of the books. "A history of Centuars, Battle of the Badlands and all eighty thousand of its casualties, The Crystal compendium...Oh!"

Pulling out a book from the D section, I looked at the title and showed it to Reks.

"Duisternis, the realm of shadowed realities." Tapping the metal book cover, I couldn't help but smile. "We got it, Reks! This has to be what we've been looking for!"

Turning to face my companion, I noticed he had yet to come back after the baby had left, and was still looking at me warily.

"What?" I asked as he pointed at my head, causing me to lift my free hand up and feel that there was indeed something on my head.

Pulling the thing off, I turned it to face me only to be met with the baby from before again, only this time it quickly freed itself from my hand, latching itself to my chest and getting comfortable.

Lowering my hands I couldn't help but shake my head at the sight. I'm mean, C'mon it's a BABY for crying out loud and she's snuggling up to me like I'm her dad or something...

Shuddering to myself, I scratch that line of thought from my mind immediately. I'm FAR to young to be a father to anything.

Looking to Reks, who had finally approached and had poked the child twice in the side, I slapped his hand away with the book and held it out to him.

"Here, the covers metal, so you should be able to absorb it." I told him, watching as he took the book and slowly shoved it through his chest into whatever pocket dimension he has with his power.

Casually rubbing the childs mane, I turned for the staircase and began walking just as Reks followed after me with a confused grunt.

"We gotta return the kid to the ponies downstairs before we leave, I'd rather not be a babysitter to a living weapon." I told him as we made it to the second floor of the library and were met face to face with two of the ponies I had seen earlier, both the overly pink pony and the blue haired unicorn that had been chasing the baby on my chest.

"Um...anyone lose a baby?" I asked with a shrug as the super pink pony hopped up to me and Reks.

"OH! So THAT'S where Flurry Heart went! I was sooooo worried when we couldn't find her, Shining thought she left the room but I told him no-Sir-ee! She had to had went to another floor and-"

Thankfully, the blabbering mess of content candy in front of me was pulled away magically as the stallion I had seen before walked up and freed me from the clutches of the baby with pinkish colored magic.

"Thank you...whatever you are for finding her. It's been a long day already, and with the current situation any sort of help is appreciated." The rather tired looking stallion giving the now now sleeping baby a look over before placing it on his back. After making sure he or she was snug, the pony turned his gaze to Reks, his eyes widening while doing so. "Lieutenant? What are you doing here?"

Looking between Reks and the stallion, I went ask what he meant by that before I heard raised voices coming from the bottom floor, causing the stallion in front of me to sigh and shake his head.

"Nevermind that, I need to check on my wife and sister, Thanks again!" He stated as he turned and galloped away all the while the Pink pony waved to us erratically before hopping after him.

"Well, that was weird...but how did that guy know ya?" I asked Reks as he rolled his eyes and tapped his chest before pointing towards the staircase the two ponies had just went down. "Right right, we got the book so let's go and-."

My phone choose now of all times to go off, forcing me to to reach into my pocket and pull the damned thing out, showing off a single letter on the caller I.D.

This guy again... I thought with slight venom in my words as I answered the call.

"Yello?"

"Ah, young Mitch! Tell me, are you safe from the storm outside?" The snarky tone of D spoke over the phone as I looked at the phone weirdly before returning it to my ear. "Trick question, my boy. No one is."

"Then why ask me then?" I stated, slightly annoyed at his joking manner as I heard a laugh on the other side while Reks began to eye the phone with almost childlike curiosity.

"Calm down, human. Your kind is soooo easy to rile up." D said as he cleared his throat. "But what I said wasn't just a side gag, if that storm isn't stopped the whole empire is doomed."

Pushing Reks away as he tried to grab the phone from me, I walked a few steps away from him and looked out a nearby window at the approaching storm, which had managed to only get bigger and engulf more of the outside mountain area than before.

Yeah, that might be a problem.

"So, you want me to help stop it somehow?" I asked, hearing D snicker on the other side as I glared at Reks to halt him from trying to grab the phone again.

I swear if Reks doesnt stop I'm going to find a fucking newspaper.

"Heavens no, how cliché would it be for the human to save the day!" He exclaimed distastefully before continuing. "No, I simply need you and your friend to look up." He said before the call ended abruptly.

Huh?

Reks, having leaned in close from behind me, heard the order and shared a questioning look with me as we looked up at the ceiling...

...only to be met with yellow eyes and red irises that seemed to engulf my vision entirely.

"Boo." Was the last thing I heard before a finger snap echoed, making everything go black.

Zephyr Breeze POV<<<<<<

"Ugh, this is sooooo boring. Why did we agree to this again?"

I'm starting to see why my sister gets annoyed with my attitude sometimes, especially if I even come close to acting like the mare hovering beside me.

"We agreed to it because SOMEPONY had to go and come up with the idea to stalk a royal and his military marefriend." I reprimanded Lightning Dust as she glared at me slightly.

"I don't recall doing that alone, Zephyr." She states smugly before sighing as she looked ahead at the mentioned couple, who were currently too busy arguing about some sort of vacation or something. "But still, I'm kinda jealous of that dog."

This caused me to become stationary in the air as I gave the mare beside me an incredulous stare.

"Really?" I asked her as I caught up with her and flew beside her yet again. "How so?"

Lightning Dust didn't respond at first, causing a nice rush of worry to flow through my veins.

Buck, I offended her didnt I? Luna, Damn it why am so bad at-

"I'm only jealous because of what they have is all. Not easy to find a stallion worth the time these days." Lightning Dust answered, pulling me out of my funk as I turned my head to face her.

"How long are you going to search for that stallion? I've heard of mares attempting to find their ideal lover for decades before giving up and going into a retirement home all alone." I said, running a hoof through my mane to make sure it was still in place after all the flying we had done today.

What? A stallion of my caliber has to keep his looks up at ALL times!

"Well, how long are you gonna hound Rainbow Dash?" She asked bluntly, causing me to nearly crash to the ground in surprise, earning me a laugh from the mare as she shook her head. "It was obvious from how you lit up when her name was mentioned earlier that you have a crush on the mare, and honestly its kinda pathetic."

Recovering from my stupor, I couldn't help but glare at the pegasus, only to receive a shrug in return as she ignored my irritation.

"I'm just saying it plainly, Zephyr. I know her type, and she'd never go for a run of the mill stallion like you." Lightning stated before stopping mid flight and landing on the ground. "Wait...why is the castle entrance covered up?"

Managing to land on the ground, I looked ahead and saw that there was a red partition blocking sight of the centerpiece of the empire entirely.

"Don't know, but it's probably for the ceremony." I said coldly as I sped up a bit with a flap of my wings, trying to put what Lightning Dust had said out of my mind.

What does she know? She's just some random mare who probably has the hots for Rainbow Dash, considering how much she wants to find her. My mood picked up slightly as that thought ran through my head. Yeah! Shes just jealous of the fact I know Rainbow Dash and doesnt want any competition is all!

Feeling something grab my foreleg, I look down to see Blueblood motion to Piper, who was on one knee holding her paws against her ears.

"What's wrong, love?" He asked her, nuzzling the side of her face as Piper put one arm around the stallion and slowly got back up on her feet, albeit shakily as she shook off whatever happened to her.

"I-Im fine...just got startled by a loud screech up ahead." She explained as Lighting Dust caught up to us while I dropped to the ground quickly, giving the couple some space.

"Screech? I didn't hear anything." Lightning Dust stated as Blueblood, after making sure Piper was alright for the moment, turned to the brash pegasus.

"Piper and her fellow Diamond dogs have sensitive hearing, even compared to us equines its on another level entirely." He informed us as he looked towards the castle with a grimace. "Whatever she heard was up ahead, and it couldn't have been good."

Casting a concerned glance to the captain, I couldn't help but feel my chest tighten slightly at the thought of danger up ahead.

Calm down, Zephyr...theres nothing to be worried about, whatever Piper heard couldn't be that bad, right? I reassured myself, barely managing to stop myself from shaking slightly from the fear coursing through me. Even if it is, if my sister can face danger...So can I!

"AHH!" I Yipped as something touched my side, making me hop into the air before nearly crashing face first into the crystal cement.

Turning to my side as I stabilized myself I groaned as I saw Lightning Dust snickering at my fight or flight reaction.

"Jeez, Breeze." She started in between her laughter. "Can't say it surprises me your that easy to spook, but it doesn't make it any less lame."

Glaring at the pegasus, I was just about to use one of my famous witty remarks on her when the prince intervened.

"Enough!" He yelled, stopping the oncoming argument between Lightning Dust and I. "You can settle your grievances AFTER we get a read on the situation at the castle."

Looking between us, Prince Blueblood shook his head and turned away as he and Piper continued walking ahead, though I could've swore I heard him muttering under his breath something about babysitting foals.

"Whatever...figures a prince would be a party pooper." Lightning Dust grumbled as she and I followed the couple up to the castle, though a herd of ponies off on one of the main roads caught my eye as we approached the crystal spire.

"Whoa...wonder if their here for the Crystalling?" I stated aloud as I tried unsuccessfully to count the ponies that were crowded up nearby.

"Imagine if we had came from that side of the city, we would've never gotten through." Lightning Dust added on as we made our way towards a pair of guards that were standing in front of the partition.

"P-Prince Blueblood?" The first guard, a stocky purple pegasus with a blue mohawk stuttered out as he stood to attention at the sight of the prince.

"Captain Piper! It's an honor, Ma'am!" The second guard, another pegasus with a red mohawk sounded off as he saluted the captain, getting a smile and a salute from the diamond dog.

"At ease, boys." She said with clear authority as she and the guards dropped their salutes and relaxed their postures. "Now, we need to know where princess Cadence is, could you help us?"

As they continued talking, I felt a wing poke my side, inclining me to turn my head towards Lightning Dust.

"What?" I asked bluntly, honestly not in a mood to deal with the mare after her attitude recently.

"Isn't it weird that those guardponies treat Piper as if she's their commanding officer?" She whispered to me as I raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Uh...not really? From what Prince Blueblood told us earlier, their clan has deep ties with this kingdom. Perhaps they simply have an alliance or something?"

"That wouldn't make them salute her though...maybe she holds high regards with princess Cadence or something." Lightning Dust stated as I couldn't help but continue the line of thought.

"But how would that happen? Did they save the princess or help her people out some-"

"HE DID WHAT?!"

Turning our attention back the the couple and the guards, Piper was now looking pretty ticked off as she dragged a paw down her face.

"Your telling me that my brother, who is in an officer position and represents my entire tribe, was last seen sprinting through the streets alongside Mitch in a race? Without any care for anyone in the way?"

Yeah, she's definitely mad.

Seeing her anger, the blue maned guard tried his best to settle the captain down with his next words, as if not to somehow anger her further.

"Y-Yes Ma'am...but the road they came in from was mostly empty due to the populace gathering near the front of the castle for the ceremony, so there was no harm done."

"Oh, I'm sure there wasn't, because if their was there would've been-" Getting a jab to her side from Blueblood, Piper cleared her throat. "Nevermind that, you said the princess is inside?"

The guards nodded and stepped off to the side, opening the partition and allowing us access to the castle.

"Right this way, Ma'am. Both the princess and your brother were last seen in the library of the castle." The red maned guard stated before returning his gaze forward towards the road.

"Well, there's no time like the present." Blueblood chirped merrily as he trotted in with Piper, though the latter still looked annoyed about the news of her brothers mischief.

"Didn't think Mitch would be here, but it's gonna be great to see him again!" I said with a smile as I followed the couple as Lightning Dust put a hoof on my shoulder and spun me around.

"Somethings not right." She stated quickly as she turned back towards the exit and looked up at the sky. "Zephyr, tell me what you see out there."

Walking up to her side I followed her gaze as I saw what looked like a bunch of clouds coming this way.

"Uh, looks like a storm...so?" I asked as the mare face-hoofed.

"Not just any storm, those clouds look like a combination of nimbostratus and cumulonimbus clouds." She said as I blinked.

"Nimbo-huh?"

Letting out a yell of frustration she pointed at the clouds. "Nimbostratus clouds cause snow, cumulonimbus clouds are present during storms. Now, imagine them together, Zephyr!"

Oh buck...

Seeing the look of fear in my eyes, Lightning Dust made a 'hmph' sound and turned her gaze back outside.

"Back in the wonderbolt academy, they had told us what types of clouds do and don't mix, and one of the main ones to never mix were cumulonimbus and Nimbostratus, or the CNS duo."

"What would happen if they did?" I asked her as the mare turned back to me, and for the first time since meeting her I saw a look of worry in the those amber irises.

"A class five storm...and one this high in the atmosphere is going to be one tartarus of a snowstorm." She answered me as I took a couple deep breaths to calm myself down before responding.

"Wait...How do you know all of this stuff? I get us pegasi can manipulate clouds and all that, but you seem to know a LOT about clouds."

It was then, for a brief moment, I saw a flash of sadness etch across the mares face. It disappeared as quickly as it came though, even if her folded ears betrayed her neutral expression.

"I...I wanted to be a wonderbolt not too long ago, and that stuff is pretty much the basics in the program I took to try and join." She shut her eyes for a second before sighing and walking past me towards the prince and Piper, who were currently looking at a center pillar in the middle of the room.

Watching Lightning Dust walk past me, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the mare.

Did she fail to join them somehow? If so, I know exactly how that feels...especially right now.

Choosing to not ask more on the topic, I followed Lightning Dust over as Blueblood seemed to be short of a panic attack.

"Where the buck is the crystal heart?!" The prince exclaimed as he took another step towards the heart, a loud crunch sounding off as he looked down where his hoof just landed. "No...you've got to be bucking with me!?!"

Looking closer around the middle spire there was cracked glass surrounding it in an almost perfect circle, and it didn't take a genius to know what had happened.

"That...can't be the crystal heart, right?" I nervously spoke up as Lightning Dust simply looked on in horror while Piper slowly knelt down and picked up a shard.

"That scream from earlier...the one that I heard on the streets." She muttered as she started shaking slightly. "Without the heart, this whole kingdom and the surrounding province is doomed."

The captain stood up quickly and turned to Blueblood, who now had his eyes on his lover as she looked down to him with eyes coated in fear.

"Bluey? Is there any way we can fix this?"

"Thats what we're trying to do, Captain."

Turning towards one of the doorways to the side, I couldn't help but feel my heart jump in my throat as I saw none other than the prince of the empire walk over towards us alongside some of my sisters friends. (I know the pink one had pink in her name, but I've never even spoken to the alabaster mare...though she seemed to be glaring at Blueblood).

"Prince Shining!" Piper exclaimed before kneeling to the unicorn. "The chief sends his regards."

Showing a quick smile, Shining nodded as Piper stood up and at attention.

"I'm glad to hear he's doing well, even if the news comes at a troubling time." Shining Armour stated as Blueblood snorted.

"Troubling is an understatement, what we have right now is a disaster." The prince said as he walked up to his fellow royal. "What's the main course of action, Armour?"

"My wife and sister are working on fixing the crystal heart, and myself and the elements are going to evacuate the city southward to avoid the coming storm." Shining answered as Lightning Dust raised a hoof.

"Hate to cut in here, but the storm is coming from all sides, how does evacuating one direction help at all?"

Looking to the pegasus, Shining seemed almost resigned as he spoke.

"We have underground bunkers in that part of the city, alongside the train station. If the tracks aren't frozen over, then we start sending ponies to safety."

"And if not, then we use the bunkers to outlast the storm...right?" Lightning Dust finished for the prince, earning a nod from Shining as the unicorn mare spoke up.

"Not that this conversation isn't interesting and all, shouldn't we be hurrying it up a tad? The storm is on its way still." The mare spoke up as Piper nodded in agreement.

"Right, now this is where we need to split up." She turned towards Lightning Dust and I. "Dust, you'll assist me in helping the evacuation. Without the Crystal heart to protect the city, the storm may be the least of our worries."

Lightning Dust let off a whoop as she took to the air with a big smile.

"Aw yeah! Time to save a city!"

Ignoring her, Piper turned to Blueblood and knelt before him, placing a paw on his shoulder.

"And I need you here, Princey! Your bound to be able to help the princesses with the heart, and they need your brain more than I do right now."

Blueblood shook his head, his eyes narrowing as he removed her paw from him with a scowl.

"If you think I'm going to let you go out there without me your-" He began, but was cut off as Piper pulled him into a rather passionate kiss, drawing gasps from everypony watching.

Sweet Lunas Flanks Piper has quite the tongue!

"Oooooh! I NEED to throw them a party!" The pink mare exclaimed happily, hopping in place while the alabaster unicorn next to her muttered something under her breath as she watched the couple with a glare.

Pulling back from the kiss and leaving Blueblood dazed, Piper giggled softly and stood up.

"Don't worry, your looking at the toughest Bitch in Equiis. You focus on saving the empire, Bluey." Piper stated strongly as she turned to me. "And Zephyr, go find Mitch and my brother and bring their flanks out to help with the evacuation."

Catching myself before I almost saluted Piper, I decided to nod instead and turned to an approaching Shining Armour.

"I saw her brother with someone else in the library above us." He told me, motioning to the door he came from with his head. "You and Blueblood can go through their and see if their still there. If not, rendezvous with my wife and sister and help them wherever its needed."

"Sounds good, Prince! Be careful everyone!" I called over my shoulder as I took off and flew through the doors alongside a suprisingly quick Blueblood.

Then again, he DID say he traveled for a living, maybe thats why hes no slob. I thought as we ascended upwards, keeping an eye on the prince as we did so. He looks so in control of the situation...makes a pegasus want to so whatever he asks.

Making it to a rather large doorway at the end of the hall, I landed on the ground with a small thump.

"So, this is the library entrance?" I asked aloud as Blueblood looked over the etchings on the doors

"Has to be. There wasn't anywhere else to go." Blueblood answered, though before we could open the doors we heard a snap from behind us.

"My my, so the prince and the pauper have come to play?"

Turning around quickly, I let out a a totally stallionly squeal as none other than Discord was floating in front of us.

"Chaos Lord, what do you want? We don't have time for your games!" Blueblood demanded while Discord turned upside down and smirked at us.

"Oh, but everyone has time for my games. Even now, your both currently players." He said ominously, though before we could ask him what he meant he lifted up his talons and snapped them, plunging everything around us into a blinding light.

Author's Note

Hooooly crap college has been kicking my ass.

Well, not really, I've just had a crapload of stuff happen (Homework, car issues again, financial problems and the like).

Thankfully, I managed to get this much done chapter wise, and decided to split it in half to give yall something to read while I continue to write and be busy.

See any errors or other things please do so, or just comment anyway!

Chapter 14: The demons of the cold

Mitch POV<<<<<<

Pitch black...again.

That's all I could see when I opened my eyes. Trying to look around changed nothing, though I found I could move with no problems.

What the hell? Last thing I remember seeing was those yellow eyes in the castle. What happened after that? And seriously, this is the THIRD time I've been knocked out cold in a week!

"Get up..."

A small light flickered in the darkness as I found my eyes drawn down towards my right arm, which was now glowing a pale blue hue that engulfed the crystal it was pouring from.

"Where am I?" I whispered to myself as I took a step or two forwards, holding out the glowing arm in hopes of shedding some light on my path.

"Your exactly where you were when you passed out, Mitch."

Hearing the voice behind me, I quickly turned around to only be met by my shadow double, only this time he had the same crystal arm as I did.

"Maxie? Wait, does that mean I'm..."

Maxie shook his head. "Unlike last time we spoke, your body is not in mortal peril...yet." He finished for me, but before I could question him further he stopped me with a raise of his hand. "Hold your questions for now, Mitch. Theres a few things you need to know."

Greaaaat. More things for me to worry about. I thought with a grimace, casting a wary glare towards Maxie, who simply shrugged it off.

"No one said weilding the dark arts wouldn't have its vices, Mitch. But please keep in mind that there are those out there that would have you at best turned to stone if they came across the knowledge of your power."

"Yeah, those royals you mentioned before, right? So?" I replied as I stretched my arms behind my head.

"So? There are three of them in the very city you find yourself in right now, and 'So?' is your response?!" Maxie's voice raises as he points a finger at me. "Mitch, Your life is in danger with just ONE of them nearby!"

My arms dropped to my sides at that, the feelings of frustration being quickly replaced with a healthy dose of dread.

"Wait...three? I thought you mentioned two before?" I asked my replica as he pinched the bridge of his nose with a flesh ridden hand.

"That was because I didn't expect you to waltz into a library the third one and her demonspawn child were occupying! You even came in contact with a child Alicorn!" He exclaimed loudly before taking a deep breath. "Mitch, an alicorn royal is any pony you see that has wings and a horn. They are to be regarded as your number one enemy from here on out. If they catch you, they'll NEVER let you go home."

Taking a step back as his words sunk in, I couldn't help but feel that feeling of worry from before multiply.

No no no no. I am NOT being stuck in this crazy fucking place... Stopping myself from panicking, I slowly but surely managed to slow down my breathing as I brought my attention back to Maxie.

"So, that feeling of fear I felt back when I was near that child..."

Maxie nodded. "That was me reaching out and trying to remove yourself from her. I didn't want to risk speaking out in case the Scion of Love had enough training to sense my presence."

"Scion of Love?" I questioned as Maxie's eyes widened for a bit before dimming back to their usual empty green haze.

"Ah, I forget how little you know of the linguistics of Duisternis. Scions are what we nightmares call the descendents to the First rulers of this realm." He starts, sitting down on quite literally nothing as the darkness seems to hold him up. "There were six rulers at the time, and each one represented one of the six magical schools that are alive now."

Finally hearing something that sounded familiar, I nodded. "Right, Sunburst mentioned something about that...things like Loyalty and Kindness being types of magic."

"Well, at least you've managed to learn something on your trip so far. Yes, there are a total of twelve archetypes of magic, six light and six dark to balance out the world. But back then there were only the six lights with no darkness to balance them out."

"So...what caused the darkness to appear then?" I asked Maxie as the doppelganger let out a barking laugh at the question.

"Where else? From the six rulers of course. No one is perfect, and when you have enough magical power to someone, your bound to to see some of their worst traits come out in some shape or another." Maxie went to say more, but was cut off as the darkness around us began to shake vehemently.

"Looks like our time is up yet again, Mitch." Maxie said as He got up from his chair of nothingness. "When you awake, you need to find your way out of that city. Don't let any of the royals find you or your toast."

"Wait!" I exclaimed just before he began to fade away. "I still have so many questions! Why would the royals want to stop me from heading home, and what do those rulers have to do with the core I have?"

Maxie waved off my questions though, and turned away from me with a chuckle.

"All in good time, my friend. Make an effort not to die today, and I'll see to it that you see me again very soon!"

With that, Maxie vanished into the void as the rumbling intensified, knocking me off my feet and back-first into the floor as all went dark again.

"Mitch!"

Six rulers...twelve schools of magic...

"MITCH!"

Avoid alicorns at all costs...can't let them stop me from heading home...

"MITCH!!!"

Eyes shooting open, I jolted up from the crystal floor as I was face to face with Zephyr, only for my head to throb instantaneously.

Damn, my head feels like it was force feed an ICEE. I groaned mentally as I held my head in one hand while looking to my rather worried friend.

"Uh, what are you doing here? I thought you were enrolled at that mane school?" I asked the pegasus as he shook his head, a rather sheepish look on his face as he did so.

"That didn't exactly work out, but we can talk about that later." He told me as he stepped aside and motioned around the room with a wing, allowing me to take in my surroundings. "As you can see, we're kinda stuck."

The whole room seemed pretty bland compared to the rest of the empire. There was little coloring in the crystal walls and floor, a pale purple in opposite to the vibrant blue found outside. There seemed to be almost nothing in the room except a couple occupied chairs and a table that stood near a broom closet.

Speaking of occupied...

"Reks! Are you ok, dude?" I asked, getting up slowly and making my way over to the diamond dog and the unicorn he was sitting with.

Turning his head up and towards me, Reks gave a curt nod as he motioned to the unicorn beside him, who cleared his throat sharply.

"And you must be this Mitch that Zephyr spoke of. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The rather fancy stallion spoke as he adjusted his bow tie. "Prince Blueblood, at your service."

Staring at the rather fancy prince, I found myself slowly turning my head slowly to Zephyr with an incredulous look on my face.

"How the hell are you on speaking terms with a prince?" I exclaimed as said prince sighed.

"This is why I keep my name and on the down low when I travel." Blueblood muttered as my gaze went from him to the walls around us.

Or namely, the lack of door in this room.

"And where the hell is the door?" I yelled as Zephyr flew up next to me and grabbed me by my shoulders.

"Calm down, dude. It's MY job to be the worrywart, remember?" He told me before slugging me in my left arm with a hoof. "And buck off! I can have friends in high places!"

"Friends is a tall order, considering we only just met, Zephyr." Blueblood stated as he walked over to me, sizing me up as his eyes glanced over every part of my body. "I must say though, I've never seen someone like you before. Tell me, which region are you from?"

"Region?" I asked him, rubbing the sore spot on my arm from where Zephyr had boxed me. "Hate to break it to ya, man. But I'm from out of country."

The princes' eyes widened at that, and he immediately got closer to me in response...uncomfortably close.

"Your a foreigner?! That's amazing, we haven't had a new species come to Equiis in years!" He exclaimed in joy from about three inches from my face as I pushed the stallion off of me.

"Yeah yeah, mind the personal space space, Blueballs." I barked, running a crystal hand through my hair as I turned my gaze to Reks, who had been watching my panic-induced scene with a smug grin. "What the hell are you smiling at, furball?"

Reks stood up and put out his fist before rotating it so his right paw was facing up, before making his middle finger go up in a slow motion as he moved his left paw in a cranking motion, coming to a full stop as his middle finger graced me at full mast with a 'Your an Asshole' stare to follow up.

Looking back in forth from the finger to his face, I tried my best to tune out the laughing coming from the pegasus and unicorn while staring down the dog in front of me.

"You think that's funny, huh. Just wait until I get my hands on a spray bottle, then your gonna be sorr-" I began to threaten only to have my sentence cut off as a spray bottle appeared in my hand.

For a moment, Reks and I simply stood there, staring at the bottle that had just appeared.

"Hey, Reks..." I started, turning the nozzle cap to the 'mist' option as a wicked smile appeared on my face. "It's bath time."

Reks' ears pinned back as he attempted to push past Blueblood to avoid the spray, but I had managed to catch him in the face with the bottle, causing the dog to blindly jump towards me in an attempt to subdue his attacker.

"Missed me, Asshole!" I taunted him as he had narrowly avoided spearing me through the gut with his body. "Guess it's been a while since you've last been bathed, huh?"

Wiping his face off with a paw, Reks shot me a harsh glare as he got up and prepared to dive again, only to stop as a shrill laugh echoed throughout the room.

"My my, what fun you managed to get up to with just a little bit of chaos." A familiar voice rang out as the bottle in my hand became a plus size gummy bear in the blink of an eye that escaped my grasp and ran over to Zephyr, who stared at the blue candy in awe.

"Whoa...Food that walks? AWESOME!" He exclaimed as he picked up the bear and gave it a fierce nuzzle, which it returned in kind with a soft growl. "I'm naming you Gummi!"

"Discord! I demand you answer me! Why did you trap all of us in this tower room?!" Blueblood scowled ad he looked up towards the ceiling, only to see nothing before looking around the room in a slight panic. "Show yourself, fiend!"

With an echoing snap, What had to be Discord showed up in the middle of the room, a measly couple of feet from where I was standing.

"What the hell..." I whispered in a mix of shock and awe as I looked over the menace to society that was in front of me. The thing seemed to be an amalgamation of multiple types of animals, based on the lions paw and griffon talon he had, alongside the lizard tail and goat horns (even those had their differences, with one being blue and the other being that pale white most horns are.)

"Discord...wait that voice." Looking the demonic figure in the eye, I recognized exactly where I had seen those eyes before.

"YOU!!!" I exclaimed as I pointed a finger at him, only to raise an eyebrow as he had done the same...except he had managed to make a eerily familiar red and blue outfit appear on his body mid shout.

Snapping away the strange suit and smiling menacingly, the serpent nodded his head with a bored glow from his eyes.

"Yes Yes. It's me, the one who sent you here and forced you to work for me under contract, can we PLEASE move the plot past this point?" He asked me as he threw his paw/talons into the air. "This story has dragged long enough in one spot, don't you think?"

Clenching my fist, I took a few steps towards Discord as I felt my boiling point start to be reached.

"Story?!? You see what's happened to me so far as a FUCKING STORY?!" I yelled at him, bringing up my crystal arm. "I almost had my arm melted off, and then I had to trek down a freezing mountain and get torn up by wolves! All because SOMEONE couldn't have the decency to drop me off in a town or city somewhere, but nooooo! You put me in a damn mountain full of SLAVE DRIVERS!!!""

"Of course I put you there! Imagine how simple it wouldve been to put you in ponyville or..." Discord shuttered slightly. "Canterlot. I did you a FAVOR by putting you so far away from civilization." Shaking his head, Discord pinched the spot between his eyes and sighed. "Regardless of authors trying to be creative, that's not why I brought you four here."

"And what reason would that be? If you didn't know, there is a dangerous storm outside and the kingdom is in possible jeopardy." Blueblood stated as Reks walked over to Zephyr and sat next to him, the former entertaining his new food pet while listening in on the conversation.

Discord, however, seemed far less cordial. The serpent stopped floating in the air and landed on the ground as he crossed his arms.

"I brought you four here, because...Darn it Fluttershy didnt tell me it would be this hard...Because I need your help."

That got everyone attention. Here was this magical serpent guy that clearly had some sort of influence if a prince was getting riled up by him and he was asking for our help? Why?

"Why us? The elements of Harmony are here right now. Surely they could help you?" Blueblood demanded as Discord shook his head.

"Absolutely not! He has his grubby hands on their lives enough as it is, if I tried to get their help it would only end up in my removal from the picture." Discord answered as he frowned. "No, this is a job for backup characters."

"Backup? Who are you calling backup?" Zephyr exclaimed, only to retreat to the wall when Discord glared at him.

"Why the hell should any of us help you, anyway? You literally kidnapped us." I told Discord as he smiled at me.

"Well, Mitch. You don't have a choice. since you work for me." He pointed at both Zephyr and Reks. "Those two will probably end up helping you regardless, and Blueblood here will do anything to keep his loved ones safe."

"Was that a threat, Discord? I may not be able to fight you, but I'm sure Auntie still can." Blueblood snarled as Discord waved him off.

"Chill out, princey poo." Discord retorted, snapping his fingers and causing a mound of snow to fall on Bluebloods' body. "If anyone is in danger, it's me for simply doing this."

Discord then turned to me, his eyes sharpened by a serious aura. "Mitch, you managed to get your hands on a book pertaining to that core on your arm, right?"

Casting a glance to Reks, I nodded. "Yeah, So what?"

Discord suddenly got a lot closer, only inches from my face as he stared me down.

"Listen to me, human. Be thankful that I brought you here on a whim. Don't forget that I don't HAVE to help out that girl, especially after what your kind did to me." He growled with a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "So lighten up, Mitch. being a sourpuss isn't helping anyone right now."

Taking a step back from the serpent, I nodded quickly and stuffed down any aggravation I had for the chaos being in front of me.

"Alright...what do you want?" I forced out, somehow managing to not sound as angry as I was currently.

"See? Was that so hard?" With another snap, a map of Equiis appeared in between us. humming to himself, Discord drew a talon across the map to several places before stopping on a place marked Vanhoover.

"In the ocean next to Vanhoover is a underwater cavern that hides another pool like the one you got your magic core from. Find it, and you'll be another step closer to your goal of going home." Taking the map and rolling it up, Discord threw it behind him and pointed his talon at me. "You just make sure to both not die, or attract too much attention while doing so."

"So, Mitch just has to go to Vanhoover and the ocean?" Blueblood asked as he looked over the map. "There's nothing out there but the ocean depths, what could be out there that he needs?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Reks had began to look far more uncomfortable with the conversation the moment the ocean was brought up. He was fidgeting slightly and seemed distracted from anything else happening around him, such as the Gummi bear climbing up his back at Zephyrs encouragement.

Odd...wonder whay has him so riled up? Does it have something to do with the sea?" I thought curiously as Discord waved his paw back and forth, dismissing the prince aand his claims.

"That's none of your concern, Prince. However, it is Mitchs, so if the rest of you could just..." Yet again, Discord snapped his talon like fingers, causing everyone in the room to vanish from sight.

Except me...great.

Clapping his appendages together, Discord smiled once more. "Now that we are alone, I can tell you the rest."

"The rest of what?" I asked him as I began to feel uneasy at the look he was giving me. It felt like one of those stares someone gave you if they didn't like you, but they absolutely needed to ask you something or needed your help for a problem they had and had no other option.

To be honest, it was worrying considering who was giving the stare to me.

"I had a meeting with a particular someone earlier...and lest just say that someone is very eager to see that you stay here in Equestria." Discord explained, making that feeling of unease triple.

"WHAT?! Who else knows I'm here?! And why would they want me to stay here?!?" I pretty much exploded, pointing a crystal finger at the serpent in front of me. "And why haven't you done something about it if your so powerful?"

"BECAUSE I CAN'T!!!" Discord yelled back, growing to an insurmountable size for a moment as he looked ready to snap before he stopped and took a deep breath, slowly shrinking to normal as he continued his line of thought. "Believe me, I wish I could knock that suit wearing jerk down a notch, but in the end he outranks me in the deity department, and if he learned that I was attempting to mess with his 'Game of Fates' as he calls it, he'd..." Discord trailed off, and for the first time since I've known the guy he seemed more...normal than I'd ever seen him before.

"He'd what?" I pressed softly, as to not cause another outburst from the guy who could literally turn me inside out with a snap of his fingers. Discord shook his head and looked me in the eyes, allowing me to see that behind the yellow and red irises was fear. Pure unadulterated fear.

"To put it this way, we'd both be forced to watch what matters most to us be shred to pieces by whatever monster he feels like using at the time, be it wolves, bears or a Ursa major." Discord shuttered slightly before the usual glow from his eyes came back instantaneously. "Which is why I need you to be VERY careful when moving around Equestria. If anyone in a green suit ever comes up to you, you need to use EXTREME caution in anything he does or says."

Crossing my arms, I turned away from Discord and found my gaze directed to some cracks in the ground nearby, all the while my mind was reeling from the amount of information given and what it entailed.

"So...theres someone crueler than you out there, but you dont want to do what he says. But, if we slip up and he finds out about it you lose someone you care about, and the same will happen to me because I'm under your damn contract?"

Looking back up at Discord, I actually saw some regret flash in his eyes for a split second, though it was gone as soon as it arrived.

"Then you better not spill any beans then, Mitch." He told me as a can of said food item dropped from behind the now floating serpent and clanked to the ground. "Just do what I've told you, follow your gut instincts, and DONT piss off the celestial butts and you'll be fine. Make your way to Vanhoover and I'll reach out to you when you arrive on what to do next."

Snickering to himself, Discord snapped his talons one last time, simultaneously making himself disappear just as another loud snap echoed the room, causing the others to return along with a door etched into the wall behind me.

"What do you mean by not our...concern?" Blueblood spoke before looking around the room, confused. "Wait, where did he go?"

"He left, but at least we know where to go now." I said as I turned to Zephyr amd Reks. "So, apparently I've got to go to the west coast...yall down for a road trip?"

Zephyr Breeze shared a glance with the living candy bear in his hooves before looking up at me with a big smile as the bear wiggled its paws around like a baby.

"I've got nothing better to do now, so count me in." Zephyr said as he returned to babying the confectionary creation in his hooves.

Reks looked from Zephyr to me several times before standing up from his seated position on the ground and looking straight down at me.

Shit, was he always that fucking tall? I thought warily as I noticed that when he stood straight he was almost a head taller than me.

Reks, however, either didn't notice my pensive feelings or didn't care as he nodded once, letting out a small bark in agreement, easing my nerves as I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Sweet! That makes things a million times easier." I remarked as I turned to the prince. "And what do you plan on doing?"

Bleublood straightened out his tie he had on and flashed me an award winning smile as he turned to the door.

"Im not sure what happened here, but It's clear a lot of its not my business." The prince shrugged slightly, though his shoulders sagged slightly as he continued. "But since your new around here, I'll make sure you and your friends make it out of the Empire safely, but that's as far as I go." He trotted over to the door and pulled it open with his magic, turning back to us. "I have a duty to help the people of the empire, and if we find anyone who wasn't evacuated for the storm on our way we should help them get to safety."

"Easy enough." I told him as slammed a fist into a crystal hand, only to shake the flesh-bound hand in pain afterwards. "Alright, let's go! Damn that hurt"

Besides, how bad could the storm be?

Mitch POV, literally 5 minutes later<<<<<<

"Your fucking kidding me" I yelled over the howl of the storm as we made it out of the castle, just to be met with fierce winds and mounds of snow everywhere.

"It was getting bad when we arrived at the castle, but to pick up so quickly?" Zephyr commented as he attempted to get off the ground, only massing to succeed the third time against the winds. "This storm can't be natural!"

"That's because it's not, Zephyr!" Blueblood explained over the shrill screech of the cold wind. "This is what the crystal heart is supposed to keep from hitting the Empire, but without it the kingdom will become like its snowy neighbors within the hour."

Raising a crystal arm to block the snow from hitting my face, I shifted my body besides Reks' as I turned my attention to the prince.

"You said there was an evacuation? Where to?"

Blueblood squinted through the storm as he looked down a path for a moment before pointing away from his line of sight.

"The evacuees are being sent southwards to the train station, but the storm seems to be coming hitting hard on all sides." He directed his hoof in a sharp ninety degree turn leftwards. "I say we move west and see if anyone is left in the shopping district, and if not then the alleyways on that road should lead to the station."

"Then let's move!" I yelled, dropping arms and following behind the prince and the others as we pushed through the storm and onto the crystal streets.

And to think, this place looked so full of life mearly moments ago... I grimaced as I kept glancing at overturned stalls, decorations slewn in the streets, and even damaged houses and gardens that we passed as we pushed on. How does one even stop a storm this strong? Is there any hope for the city?

Turning onto another road, we all came to a stop as Blueblood starting waving someone down up ahead.

"Hey! What are you doing out here?" He called out as the two ponies and their dragon came up to us.

"Wait, Starlight?"

"Mitch?" The unicorn responded as she shook her head quickly. "Wait, no time. We need to get Sunburst to the castle. He has something that can fix the Crystal Heart!"

"Wait, he does?! That's awesome!" Zephyr yelled, trying to make his voice heard as the storm winds picked up again, causing his voice to be barely even audible instead.

"Not awesome, lifesaving." Blueblood responded as he approached the orange unicorn. "Is this true? Can you save this day yet?"

The stallion pushed up his glasses as he gulped nervously at the spotlight casted on him. "Well, it's all in this boo-"

A loud, ear piercing howl shredded the wind, interrupting Sunburst and causing Reks to wince slightly in pain.

"That...didn't sound good." The little dragon brat (what was his name again...Spok?) worridly stated as the empty buildings and alleyways came to life as several of the snow 'mounds' began to move.

"Oh fuck not again." I yelled as the mounds shook off their excess snow and bared their fangs and hollow eyes that glowed a sharp yellow in the white surroundings.

"Winter wolves..." Zephyr muttered in fear as the Gummi bear on his back began to growl at the approaching threat.

"I knew it...the storm was only the beginning." Blueblood whispered as he magicked a rapier out of thin air and turned to everyone. "We're surrounded on all sides by snow, who knows how many of them are out there, but our main goal is getting Sunburst to the castle."

One wolf charged forward at us, only to get a fist to the face by Reks as he drew a mace out of his armour with his other hand.

Sidestepping another wolf's advance, I shouldered up to Reks.

"Any of these fuckers nick ya and I patch you up, but don't get ballsy aight?" I told him, getting a woof and a nod from my companion. Meanwhile Zephyr, who's poor little Gummi bear was clinging onto for life, yelped and flew over a charging wolf, wincing as he saw it get skewered by Blueblood as he trusted through it.

"I'm not cut out for these sort of things, so I'll just stay up here and-Behind you!" Zephyr called out to Starlight as three wolves appeared from the snow and jumped out at her while she was busy blasting another that had tried to make a snack out of Sunburst.

"Get the buck away from us!" She yelled out as she shot out another beam, hitting two of them as they charged but missing the third as it jumped over the blast and bared its fangs, only to be burnt to a crisp by dragonfire.

"Thanks Spike, I owe you one!" Starlight told the dragon as her horn turned red and flames bursted out of it, melting a couple more Winterwolves that were nearby.

"Anything to keep a friend safe." Spike answered, only as another sharp howl rang out on the street, causing most of the wolves to back off to the edges of the road.

"Uh...why'd they stop attacking?" Zephyr asked from above us, speaking out from the silence as Sunburst did a little nervous trot in place.

"Oooh this is bad. I've read up on Winterwolf behavior since moving here, and the book said they only stop hunting their prey if the prey proves to be too strong or their pack leader commands them to."

Hearing that explanation caused a sinking feeling in my gut as I recalled the giant wolf from back when we were chased through the mountains. Sharing a worried look to Reks, it was clear he was thinking the same.

"Somethings coming! Stand at the ready!" Blueblood yelled out, his voice cracking ever so slightly as he turned his rapier to the opening the wolves had made.

Even with the storm picking up, I could make out something big lumbering towards us. In fact, to my horror, it was eerily familiar in shape and size as it came close enough to be recognizable.

"No...it followed us out here?" Zephyr whimpered, nearly falling out of the sky in shock as the giant wolf from that night in the woods had managed to find us again...only now it's size was even more evident than before.

The giant wolf stood tall among its peers, reaching to the height of some of the one story buildings nearby as its fangs easily looked to be as big as myself, if not far thicker. It's claws we're as big as a pony and waaaay sharper and most of it body seemed to be made of thickly padded snow that glistened like snowflakes.

"A Winterwolf Queen...I'd never thought I'd ever see one with my own eyes." Sunburst whispered in awe as he took a step behind Starlight, who along with Spike had huddled close next to me and Reks while Blueblood stood in front of us and Zephyr stayed afloat.

"I'd heard stories on my travels, but to see such an apex predator up close is exhilarating." Blueblood said in awe as he turned his head slightly, never taking an eye off of the Queen. "Things have gotten much worse, everypony...time to come up with something quick."

"C-Could we melt it? It's made of snow like the rest of its kind, right?" Spike spoke up nervously as the other Winterwolves seemed to be almost grinning at our misfortune as they watched us cower in the sight of their Alpha.

"Sadly, No. Queen and King varients of the enchanted wolf variety are highly resistant if not immune to elemental assault, and even boast resistances to magic as well." Sunburst spouted out as all took a collective step back when the Queen inched forward. "And even then none of us have the magical strength or reserves to take on a Queen AND her pack at the same time."

"Then...what do we do? She's getting closer!" Zephyr exclaimed as the Queen toke several steps forward, at most twenty-five yards away from us.

Shit...gotta think of something, or we're dead meat. Looking around rapidly, I noticed there was a small opening both behind us and to an alleyway off on our left. Perhaps if we split up...and Blueblood said something about the crystal heart thing protecting the empire, so if it got fixed...

"Blueblood!" I called out, getting his attention. "If yall made it to the heart, would it getting fixed push the wolves back?"

The prince nodded. "The magic that pours from its influence would eviscerate all traces of strong dark magic in the area, so it should kill them...but how do you plan on getting to the castle?"

I shook my head, that sinking feeling returning yet again.

"By splitting up. You take Starlight and her friends back to the castle while Reks, Zephyr and I keep them busy." I answered, getting both gasps from everyone and a glare from Blueblood.

"What?!? That's suicide!" Zephyr exclaimed loudly, the little bear on his back nodding in agreement.

"Like Tartarus I'm letting that happen! I'm not leaving you or your friends to get mauled, Mitch!" Blueblood argued as the Queen Wolf bent downwards, ready to pounce.

"There's no time to argue, Blueblood!" I exclaimed, turning to Starlight. "Starlight, these things are weak to fire right? Could you and Spike spit out some flames to block their approach?"

The mare looked to Sunburst, who thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "In theory, yes. But where would you guys go from there?"

I went to answer, but was cut off as Reks chunked the mace he had in his paw straight forwards, hitting the Queen in the snout and forcing it backwards as it had tried to rush us when we were distracted.

"We'll make do, now fire the spell off now!" I yelled as the wolves around us all charged at once while Starlight charged up her horn again.

"I said to back the Buck off!" She yelled as she released the spell, making a wave of flames push from her outwards, melting several wolves at once and push the others to the buildings walls nearby.

"Spike! On our right!" I called out as I punched a wolf apart with a crystal fist before ducking as Reks threw a wolf into a couple of its friends.

"On it!" He exclaimed, running forward and inhaling deeply before breathing out a large line of flames as he fell backwards in exhaustion, only to be magically teleported on Bluebloods back. The prince made sure the dragon was safely on his back before sending me an angry glare as he motioned to the alleyway I had saw earlier while his floating sword continued to cut some of the straggling wolves down that the fire had missed.

"Mitch! There's an opening off to the side, go that way and stay in the alleyways and the queen shouldn't be able to follow you!" Blueblood stated as he, Sunburst, and Starlight galloped off towards the castle while the Queen Wolf shook off its dazed state and glared right at me and my remaining friends.

"MOOOOOVE!" I screamed, taking off in a full sprint and jumping over some of the flames as Reks and Zephyr followed behind through the alleyways.

Hearing a loud thunk as the walls shook, I glanced over my shoulder to see the Queen had managed to slam into the buildings, but couldn't get through after all!

"Where are we even going?" Zephyr called from behind us as he struggled to keep up with our pace in the air. "And what if the Queen finds us again?"

"Then we continue running!" I call back as an blue light goes off above us, making our group pause and stare at the sky, which was now littered with sparkling blue lights.

"Was that an emergency signal or something? I doubt fireworks are going off right now." I wondered as the sound of approaching bodies startled us back into our run down the alleyways, taking a sharp left turn into another sector.

"Perhaps it was from Blueblood? Or-*huff*- maybe one of the other evacuation teams we ran into while searching for you guys?" Zephyr panted out as we came to a stop in an empty side street.

Leaning my back against a wall, I tried to get my breathing under control while Reks scanned the area for wolves.

"Perhaps...Damn I'm out of shape." I gasp, putting my hands on my knees as I bend over and regain control of my breathing. "Still, it's not safe here. We've got to move to a more condensed area before it finds us."

Zephyr descended to the ground in front of us, pointing ahead at a store that's front door was open.

"Then let's move indoors! We can hide out there until the storm is stopped!" He exclaims as he gallops into the shop, with Reks close behind.

"Well, nothing for it." I muttered as I followed them into the shop, closing the door behind us as we enter the dark building. "What kind of shop is this place anyway?"

Reks looks at some of the counters and throws something at me from the racks.

"What is..." I start, but stop as I notice it's a shirt, and a decently sized one at that. "Wait, this is a clothes shop?"

"Seems like a tourist venue more like. I found those little magezine things that tell you about the 'sights of the Empire' and all that." Zephyr says as I throw off my rather dirty shirt and try on the new one. It was a bit small and the neck area was sagging, but considering this was a pony shop I should be glad it fits at all.

"How do I look?" I asked, striking a pose as Reks barked out a hushed laugh and pointed at the shirts front. "What are you-oh for fucks sake!"

On the front was an image of that pink alicorn from the library, only she was winking and had the words "All hail the Queen of Hearts" In big pink letters around her image.

"Guys! Get over here!" Zephyr exclaimed, causing Reks and I to move over to the counter and see what he was staring at. "Get low and look out the window!"

Bunkering down behind the counter, I leaned over the side of it and looked towards the entrance, just in time to see a giant glowing eye glance over the window from above.

"Hooooly fuck." I whispered as I pulled my head back and leaned further down to the ground, almost to the point where I was symmetrical with the ground.

"What do we do now?" I whispered out as Reks shushed me, pointing upwards as the ceiling started to Crack slightly, making my eyes widen in terror.

It's on the roof!

"We are so bucked...We are so bucked!" Zephyr kept muttering to himself as he pulled his chaos bear closer to his chest, with the little guy snuggling into him for comfort.

There has to be a way out of this...but how? I thought as I desperately tried to come up with something. The doorways are a bust, and we cant stay here forever...shit, does the wolf have our scent? Can it HEAR us when we speak?

Turning to Reks, I could see him looking from the cowering Zephyr to me as his eyes shared what had to be what mine were showing at the time:

Fear. Fear of dying in some random shop in a storm ridden city by the hands of a pissed off wolf.

No...I cant die here. I need to get back home...I need to get back to-

I was pulled from my line of thought as the roof cracked again, much more audibly this time than before.

"Reks, where do we go from here?" I whispered to him, praying to anyone who was listening that he had an answer.

Reks closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as he went to open his mouth...

...only for a giant claw to rip from the ceiling and slam through his chest.

"REKS!!!" The yell was out of my mouth without a moments hesitation as the claw that had pierced him lifted up and flicked sideways, sending the poor dog through the window and into the open streets.

"Fuck!" I was off like a rocket, leaving my bunkered spot and rushing outside to my friends aid, coming to a stop on my knees by the wounded lutienant.

"Reks...shit man, are you alive." I whispered as I looked him over, wincing as he slowly moved his paw from his chest and showing off the gaping hole in his chest, not quite where his heart was but definitely puncturing a lung.

"Hoooooly..." I was at a loss for words...How was I supposed to react to this? I'm a fucking college graduate, not a damn soldier! I've never seen anything more than a nosebleed on a friend, not...THIS!

I heard a loud howl, followed by the sound of some sort of weapon firing off, but I refused to turn my attention away from my companion...no, my friend as I placed my crystal arm on his wound.

"Don't worry, Bud. I'm going to fix ya right up...just like I said I would." I told him, getting Reks to look me in the eyes as he let our a pained cough again and again. "Hey, settle down and let me figure out how this works again."

Alright, last time I did it I simply just thought to myself what I wanted to do, and it happened...lets just hope that this doesnt end up killing me.

As I continued focusing my thoughts on healing Reks, I saw the crystal begin to glow as the light engulfed all of reks' body.

"I-I-It's working, Reks!" I whispered to him as I heard another roar from off to the side, and I could've swore I hear Zephyr call out to me, but I didn't care.

Hell, I don't think I could focus on anything else right now. As the light continued to glow I could feel my consciousness slowly start to slip away.

I have...to pull through. Fuck, STAY AWAKE!

I used my normal hand to grab a loose rock nearby and slammed it down into my left leg, the searing pain slamming into my nerves like a freight train at two a.m on a highway.

"FUCK!!!" I cried out as the glow of the light grew ever stronger, sapping more of my energy away.

"What the buck is he doing? Cancel his spell or he's going to die!"

"If you stop it now, they both die!"

"The only thing we can do is wait, and see if the brat has what it takes to be a healer."

I tried to focus on the voices, but it was for nothing as I felt myself slip from reality for what felt like the fourth time that day.

Mitch POV, A couple hours later<<<<<<

"REKS!" I exclaimed, jolting awake for what seemed like the millionth time recently. "What, where am I?"

I felt a hoof press me back down in my laying position as Zephyr tried to calm me down.

"Whoa there, Mitch. Easy does it, you've been through a lot!"

Glaring at the pegasus, I sat up anyway...only to end up almost falling out of the seats I was sprawled on.

Wait, what?

Looking around, I could see that I was on a train now, and was laying across four or five small chairs with a small blanket on my body.

"Zephyr...where's Reks?" I asked the pegasus, not really caring about where I was at the moment.

Zephyr smiled and motioned towards the chairs to my side, where Reks currently was sitting. He was awake, and had his armour off, instead had that blue tunic on again with a giant amount of bandages running across his chest.

Zephyr stood up and got off of me. "I'm going to go tell the others that your awake, I'll be but a minute!" Zephyr flew towards one of the train car doors, but stopped short of it and turned back to me, ears pinned against his head as his eyes seemed to radiate relief.

"Mitch...I'm glad your alright, but next time try to think before you go and almost deplete your magic reserves, ok?" With that said, the pegasus left, leaving me alone with Reks.

Sitting up entirely, I took off the blanket and looked at my arm. The crystal hue it normally was now a dim blue rather than its usual luster.

Must be recharging or something...I have GOT to get around to reading that book from the library.

"Hey."

Looking around, I looked to both of the doors but couldn't see anyone that had entered.

"Is someone there?" I called out before the dog in front of me cleared his throat, causing me to look back to Reks as he shook his head.

"I spoke, Mitch." He spoke in a strong, deep voice that caused me to jump out of my seat in shock as my eyes nearly popped out of my sockets.

"R-Reks?!? You!?" I stammered out as he stood up and laughed out that damned barking laugh he's done so many times before.

"I did, and if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here to do so." Reks responded...fuck he actually responded as he stepped forward and brought me into a bear hug. "Thanks for giving me the gift of life, comrade."

I was frozen like ice as Reks squeezed me tightly before letting me go and taking a step back, snickering at my reaction.

"What's wrong, friend? Still reeling from the healing spell?" He let out a heart laugh as I snapped to my senses.

"Holy shit, your voice dude...Why didn't you tell me sooner that you could talk?" I asked my friend as he shook his head.

"Piper never said I couldn't, just that I choose not to most of the time...Ever since ma and pa died, I haven't had many people to get close enough to do so with." Reks explained as he sat back down. "But enough gloomy talk! We must celebrate our victory and the empires continued existence!"

"Wait, what happened back at the empire?" I asked him as I heard the door open off to my right.

"Well, it looks like you win again, Piper." Commando mouthed off as he and Piper entered the room, the former armoured up in his red gear while Piper wore her blue armour. "I didn't think Reks would open up that well to the brat, but here we are."

"Shut it, Captain. Can't you see they've been through enough?" Piper remarked before rushing over to me and embracing me in a full on death grip hug. "Thank you for saving my brother, Mitch. You don't know how much this means to me."

Returning the hug, I couldn't help but smile as she let me go and sat down next to Reks. "I couldn't let him die out there, especially not to that damned wolf."

Reks shook his head, his face darkening at the memory. "Don't remind me, Comrade. It's still fresh on the body and mind right now."

Commando stared long and hard at Reks before he sighed, looking between us as he rubbed his eyes.

"And to think I thought you were nothing more than a fluke..looks like I was wrong on multiple accounts." He turned his gaze to me, never smiling but no longer glaring at me. "I may not like you, but I respect you for what you did here today. And I'm sure you have many questions as to what happened while you did your whole 'healing' thing, right?"

I nodded as my gaze passed to Reks and Piper once more. Piper was trying not to show it, but I could see a tear or two leave her eyes as she held her brother close, never quite letting him out of her eyesight.

Commando watched on as well, chuckling to himself as he smiled for like the third time since I've met the guy.

"We are quite lucky to be alive, and the situation that happened on that street proves it." I turned my attention back to the dog as he sat down next to me. "Now, it started when I met up with Piper and her winged friend in the backstreets..."

Author's Note

Hooooly moly that took far longer to write than I wanted it too, but I rewrote the bigger scenes here like 10 times!

That, and I maaaaay have procrastinated a bit due to gaming and college life (What, I'm human!)

Either way, it's a big chapter with a lot to unload, so if you got questions I'll be glad to answer them. Also, feel free to point out any errors because I'm super tired now and can't go over this whole thing right now.

Hope yall enjoyed it, and stay tuned for the next one:

Release date- whenever it happens I guess

Chapter 15: Catching up

Piper POV, back in the Empire<<<<<<

"Shining! What's the status on the fleeing citizens?"

Spearing another winterwolf on my rapier, I withdrew the blade from the monsters gut as I turned my gaze to the prince, who was currently blocking off a side of the street with a giant pink shield so multitudes of townsfolk could get to the station safely.

After splitting up with Bluey and Zephyr, Lightning Dust and I had began to assist Prince Shining and the Element Bearers in their job of evacuating townsfolk to the station south of the castle. As soon as we began the evacuation process, we were met with resistance by the same buggers that had assaulted us on the mountain a couple days ago.

"We've got the last group heading out with Fluttershy and Rarity, but even with the other elements assisting us in fending ofd we might have to fall back." Shining Armour shouted over the shrill winds and howling beasts as several wolves threw themselves at the magic shield, only ro dissipate into snow on contact. "There's just too many of them to hold this position any longer than necessary!"

"Buck that! We're kicking flank out here, we ain't retreating from these dogs...uh, no offense, Piper." Lightning Dust, who had just did a corkscrew dive into a mound of wolves to smash them apart, stated proudly as she smiled sheepishly at me, earning an eye roll from me as she continued talking. "And where are the other elements? You'd think they'd be helping us out!"

Watching the last of the evacuees make it through a nearby alleyway, Shining dropped the shield barrier and began an offensive front, sending several blasts of magic forward and incineration several wolves.

"Applejack and Rainbow dash are escorting the citizens the rest of the way, it's too dangerous right now to only have two of them on the townsponies right now. And besides-" Shining turned around and bucked a wolf to smithereens that had gotten too close to him. "-You guys need me just as much as they do."

Cutting a few more wolves down, I began to slowly back up as more of them began to formulate from the snow.

"Even so, their your people Shining. Go and help them! And dont worry about us, Lightning Dust and I can handle things here!" I called over my shoulder as several more wolves filtered out of nearby shops and alleyways adjacent to our position.

"What?!?" Both Lightning and Shining exclaimed in shock as we began to get pushed into the narrow crevice that the citizens had fled down earlier.

"You can't expect me to leave you two alone to fight this many wolves! That's not gonna happen." Shining gruffly stated as he charged up his horn. "This district is lost, so when I throw up this shield you two are going to make a run for it and assist the others in getting the ponies to safety!"

Finishing the spell, Shining unleashed it, creating a much larger barrier that was able to block off most of the street around us.

"Dude, you can't expect to take on this many wolves either! Even with your fancy magic!" Lightning Dust yelled at the stallion as the sky above became engulfed in a glittering blue light as an emergency flare went off somewhere west of the castle.

Blue flares? My thoughts ran wild as it dawned on me what that meant.

"Change of plans, Shining! Get your flank through that alleyway, I'm going to the site of that flare that just went off." I stated, getting a crazed look from the stallion as Lightning Dust dropped from the sky.

"Captain, I already said that-" I didn't let him finish as I got up into his face with a growl.

"With all due respect, that flare coloring and type belongs to my hubby. And if he shot if off then he's in deep trouble, and I refuse to let anything happen to my pony. So go and help your people, and let me go find my mate!"

For a hot moment, nothing was said, just the sounds of the Winterwolves slamming into the barrier repeatedly as the prince kept eye contact.

"You realize that if you go then there's a chance you'll die out there?" He asked as my eyes narrowed.

"If I don't go after him, thens there's a chance HE dies out there instead!" I retorted a bit harsher than I wanted to as I pointed at the pegasi beside us. "Lightning, either follow Shining Armour or come back me up, make a decision and make it quick."

With almost no hesitation, the mare trotted over to my side and flashed me a daredevil smile.

"Are you kidding? Your about to go headfirst into an army of wolves, now that's my kinda party!" She exclaimed, elbowing me in the leg as she turned back to the prince. "If you happen to see the Element of Loyalty at the station, be sure to tell her that Lightning Dust had got her covered, aight?"

Frowning at the strange mention, but casting it aside, Shining Armour sighed as he gave us a tired grin.

"Guess there's no stopping you two, is there?" At my smirk the prince turned away from us and towards the alleyway as the barrier around us began to shimmer and dim. "Make sure that Blueblood knows that he owes me after all of this!"

"Will do, Prince!" I responded to him as Shining disappeared into the dark path, leaving Ligntning and I alone to make it across town.

Gripping my rapier tight, I let out a shaky breath as the barrier dissipated entirely, leaving the two of us wide open.

"Alright! Who wants a bruising?!?" Lightning Dust screamed out as she took flight and shoulder tackled a charging wolf into snowy remains before doing a one-eighty somersault kick into another.

"Keep pushing towards the other alleyway, we can move much faster if we get off the main road!" I ordered the mare as I made quick work of any wolves that blocked my path, slicing each and every snow mound into ribbons as we slowly but surely pushed through to the other side of the crystal road.

Turning my back to the alleyway, I watched in horror as all the winterwolves we had crashed and slashed through pieced themselves back together and turned their hungry gazes towards us.

"Well, that's not fair...How are we supposed to beat these guys if they don't die?" Lightning Dust moaned as she flew up and looked around for a moment before flying off somewhere, leaving me behind with the wolves.

"Where the hell are you going?!? Get back here!" I yelled at the mare as she disappeared behind a building almost a block down. "I swear if she doesnt-Agh!"

I was knocked off my paws as a winterwolf had taken advantage of my distracted state, pinning me against the ground as I barely held back his snapping maw.

"Damn it, where's my sword?" I grunted out as saliva dripped from its jaws onto my face, blurring my vision as it splattered against my left eye.

Scrunching up my face, it took every bit of willpower to not move my paws from the wolves neck and attempt to clear my vision, instead pushing back harder against the beast as I heard some of its fellow kin begin to close in on me.

This is it, this is how I die. Stuck in an alleyway with a cursed dog ripping my throat out.

Just as I began to accept my fate, something big slammed into the wolf on top of me and sent if backwards, allowing me time to sit up and clear the gunk from my face.

"Found something!" Lightning Dust exclaimed as she bucked another barrel over my head and into the crowd of wolves that were trying to get through the alleyway, but had managed to get stuck on top of each other.

"Where the hell were you? I almost died!" I exclaimed as the mare shrugged and grabbed a lit torch.

"Saw something to clear out the wolves, and figured you could handle yourself for a few minutes while I got the goods." She answered as I shook my head in disbelief.

What is wrong with this mare?

Smiling widely, the mare lifted up the torch and aimed it at the barrels she brought.

"Get over here quick, those barrels are gonna blow!" She yelled happily, causing me to scramble backwards as I watched her throw the torch towards the barrels, the light from the torch allowing me to see the words 'Revolver's Powdered Goods' in black letters on the wood.

Watching the torch make contact, my body tensed up as I waited for the following explosion...

...only to narrow my eyes at the mare beside me as nothing happened.

"Did you just throw a flame at a barrel full of bomb powder and expect it to explode?"

Chuckling nervously, Lightning Dust scratched the back of her head with a hoof as she averted her gaze from my own.

"Mmmmmaybe?"

Scratch that last thought, we're both going to be ripped to shreads.

Just as the wolves began to pour into the alleyway we were in, I overheard a muffled thump as a glowing arrow shot into the barrels Lightning Dust had tried to ignite...only this time they did explode.

"Get back!" I yelled as I tackled the pegasus out of the way of the extending flames, both of us landing on the cold ground as the fire danced on my armoured back.

Waiting a few moments for anything to happen, only to be met with the crackling of fire, I got off the mare and began to look around the small space we were in.

"Who's there?" I called out, ignoring the glare coming from Lightning Dust as she got to her hooves and shook herself off.

"Why did you stop me from seeing the explosion? It sounded awesome!!!" She barked at me as a figure dropped from the rooftops in front of us, holding a crossbow in hand as he gave me a wry smile.

"Looks like I still have to pick up the slack for you, aye captain?" The golden-furred Commando spat out as he turned to the fire and chuckled to himself. "Not a bad idea to use fire, but damn that pegasi has poor follow-up skills."

"Say WHAT?" Lightning Dust exclaimed as she flew up into Commandos face. "You've got a lot of nerve talking smack to-Eep!"

Pointing his crossbow at the mare, Commando shut her up as he turned his gaze back to me.

"Annoyances aside, why the hell are you still here, Captain? You were supposed to report to the Chief hours ago."

Grabbing my rapier off of the ground and motioning for the two to follow me, we began to make our way through the alleyway with relative ease.

"I planned on it, but then I got wrapped up in a civic matter here." I explained as we turned a corner and stopped at the next road. Walking up beside me, Commando peeked his head out and looked around the street for a moment before giving the all clear, allowing us to run across quickly to the next side road. "Now I'm attempting to get back in contact with Prince Blueblood to try and find any remaining civilians in town."

"Would this Blueblood happened to have been the cause of the signal flare earlier?" Commando asked as Lightning Dust spoke up.

"I'm sorry, who is this again?" She asked as I groaned slightly, pinching the edge of my muzzle with a paw.

"This is Commando, one of the big dogs back at base and is probably here to fetch me." I answered her as the Dog barked out a laugh.

"Nice wordplay, Piper." He said with an unnecessary amount of snark as he looked back at the pegasus behind me. "But she's right, I was sent to collect her by the chief, but now we-Hold on, get down."

Motioning for us to get low, we obliged him as he quietly shushed us and pointed up above us.

Following his finger, my eyes widened as I saw a giant mound of snow looming over the building beside us, moving from side to side as a giant wolf head kept looking around the street ahead of us.

Is that the monster from the woods a two days ago? My thoughts ran wild as I slowed down my escalating breathing, barely managing to keep it under control as the giant wolf shifted its weight on the rooftop, causing small rubble to fall on our heads.

Lightning Dust did a worm-like crawl over from behind us as she slowly made her way towards a window, peering in for a moment before turning back to us with wide eyes.

Zephyr and the two other guys are in there! She mouthed to us as she looked in again as my heart rate jumped. One is a lanky looking guy and the other is a armoured dog like you, Piper.

Reks is here?! With Mitch and Zephyr as well? How did they get this far out from the castle?

Sharing a look with Commando, we began to inch forward slowly before stopping as the wolf above us began to rise up.

"What is he doing?" Lightning whispered at us, but before we could shush her the beast brought down a claw into the building, nearly destroying the walls in roof in the process and forcing us to move to the other side of the alley.

"REKS!!!"

Hearing what had to be Mitch, I ran out from the alleyway just to see my brother lying across the street with Mitch leaning over him.

"Damn it, GET DOWN!!!" Commando howled as he ran out into the open and fired a flaming bolt at the giant wolf, sending it into a howling frenzy as the bolt exploded much of its face off.

"MITCH, We have to get out of here!" I heard Zephyr exclaim as he flew out of the building and over to the human, stopping short as he watched Mitch try and heal whatever wound my brother had.

Running over to the two, I stopped cold as I saw nothing but blood and magical light surround me brothers chest.

No...I can't lose him too. Not after what happened to Ma and Pa

Frozen in place, I watched Mitch mutter repeatedly to Reks as Commando continued to fire flaming salvos into the wolf, barely keeping it at bay as Lightning Dust landed beside me and let out a gasp at the sight in front of her.

"W-Whoa...that's a lot a blood." She whispered as a blueish light rippled throughout the street just as the light from Mitch's arm grew ever brighter.

"Hey! Somethings happening!"

Turning my head to Commando, I barely was able to make out the melting form of the giant wolf as the blue light made the snow evaporate on contact.

Zephyr landed by Mitch just as I turned my gaze back to my brother, a clear look of worry on his face as he watched Mitch continue to struggle to keep the spell up.

"What the buck is he doing?!" Zephyr yelled, turning to me as he pointed at the man. "Cancel his spell or he's going to die!"

Shaking my head violently, I sent the pegasus a glare that could freeze the sun.

"If you stop it now, they'll both die!" I barked, feeling my heart rate spike at the thought as Commando walked over with his crossbow slinged over his back.

"The only thing we can do now is wait, and see if the brat has what it takes to be a healer." Commando stated sharply as the spell finished, causing Mitch to fall over on top of Reks.

Please be ok, pleaaaaaase be ok! My mind chanted over and over again as I rushed over to the two of them and began looking them over.

I can't lose anyone else...

Commando POV<<<<<<

Man, what a day this turned out to be.

Standing to the side as Piper and the two pegasi looked over the weird monkey thing and our very own Lutienant, I let out a sigh as I stroked the fur on my head.

This kid better be one gifted son of a bitch, because if hes not explaining this to the chief is gonna hurt.

Hearing something land behind me, I turned around only ro be met with the ruler of Equestria herself...and her sister.

"What has happened here?" Sun princess asked as I pointed a paw at the scene beside us.

"Wolves attacked, and now one of our own might be dead." I informed the princess as the night princess snorted.

"Thou seem quite indifferent to the outcome, Dog." She snarked as I narrowed my eyes, slighted by her idiocy.

"The only thing I'm indifferent to is you, Nightmare. Of course I care about my fellow brethren, though I'd like to know what caused the snow wolves to dissipate like they did."

"The crystalling process was finished moments ago, and during the process the crystal heart was fixed, driving all sources of evil from the kingdom." Sun princess fielded my question as she turned a sorrowful eye to the group behind me, who had now seperated the two and, with Pipers instruction, began bandaging Reks up. "We were told a group of Diamond dogs and a hairless ape had helped secure the future of the empire, so we came to find you immediately...though it appears we were too late."

Scoffing at the motherly tone the royal used, I turned away from them and waved a paw in the air.

"Not your problem, princess. Sure, they helped you guys out and all, but all we want in return is safe passage out of this Godfather-forsaken city."

Turning back to the two royals, I noticed the Nightmare was eyeing Mitch really closely, especially the crystal casing on his arm. Thankfully, before she could say anything Sun princess spoke first.

"Travel by train has already been accommodated for, thanks to my nephew Blueblood." Sun princess answered before narrowing her eyes. "But know this, I felt a tremor of dark magic being used over here. If at anytime word comes to me that dark magic is being used against my little ponies you'll find the Winter tribes alliance with Equestria to be severed quite quickly."

Mimicking her stare, I smirked and pointed to the group behind me.

"I'll keep that in mind, your highness. Now, would you mind teleporting us to the station? We'll have a train to catch and I don't want to miss it."

Mitch POV, present time<<<<<<

Finishing his recount of what happened, I looked between the Commander and Piper before letting letting out a sigh.

"Shit...so we were that close to being dog food, huh." I muttered with a empty laugh as I looked up at Reks. "Still, better to be alive than dead on the street, right?"

Raising a paw into the air, Reks went to agree before wincing in pain, causing Piper to glare at both of us.

"One of you is injured and the other is magically drained, and you still find ways to be idiots?" She huffed as she leaned back and crossed her arms. "But yeah, that's pretty much the gist of what happened." She said before Commando butted in with a smirk.

"Not taking into account the Empire owes the Winter tribe for saving their land again, along with ourselves getting a free train ride to Vanhoover along with it." He said before he ceased smiling and pulled a gem from somewhere behind him...probably a pocket or something weird like that. "Except us. You and I have a military strategy meeting to go to."

Looking at Piper, both me and Reks shared looks of surprise.

"Wait, you've got to leave after all that's happened? And so soon?"

For a second, it looked like Piper wanted to say otherwise, but she sighed and stood to her feet, barely managing to pull herself from Reks as she walked over to Commando.

"If it was anything else, I'd tell the chieftain to fuck off and pick someone else...but this is something that's been in the works for a while now, so I can't bounce it off."

"Like hell you can't! What's so important that you can't stay with Reks and make sure he's ok?" I exclaimed, raising my voice slightly as I started to feel a bit lightheaded.

Might have to tone it down a bit.

Sharing a look with Commando, Piper sighed again and looked me in the eyes.

"War, Mitch. That's what." She dropped the proverbial bombshell as I felt my jaw drop. "The Winter Tribe is going to war soon, and I'm part of the group that's leading the front."

Looking from the pained expression on the captains face to the plain look on Commandos face, I was left speechless as I processed that.

And here I thought this world couldn't get any more insane.

Author's Note

Hey! Chapter update, and it's not 2 months later this time!

Yeah, this was surprisingly rough for me to write out, for some reason it just took forever to figure out what to put to paper. thankfully it's out, though I'm not 100% fond of this chapter, but can't see any better way to write it.

Feel free to comment below on anything with the story, especially your thoughts or any Grammer mistakes. (Seeing comments can really make a writers day, so I challenge a random reader to write a comment down, even if they don't usually comment)

See yall next time!

Chapter 16: Consequence of action

Mitch POV<<<<<<

"War? What kind of war?" I asked, my eyes shifting from Piper to Commando, watching them closely as they shared a glance before Commando spoke up.

"That's...a hard question to field, Kid. Especially since we're not at liberty to discuss a lot of the finer details." Commando grunted, looking to Reks for a moment before shaking his head. "Not to mention that if Reks was in good shape, I probably would've brought him back too."

This got a reaction out of the injured lutienant. Reks slowly stood to his feet as he hobbled over to Commando with the aid of his sister. Stopping a foot or two from the red armored dog, sending a glare straight into Commandos' soul.

"I'm not heading back. Not if what I think is happening is going down."

I'm sorry, what?

"Like hell you aren't, injured or not, you're still part of the force!" Commando exclaimed, putting a finger towards Reks with a growl.

"Reks, you can't be serious. we formed a pact with the Winter Tribe, and we can't go back on that." Piper said, her tone hinted with sadness as she looked over her injured brother.

Reks sent a reassuring smile Pipers way before directing his attention back to Commando.

"The chief saved my life, and for that I am grateful." Reks began as he pointed a paw at me. "But now, another has pulled me from deaths maw, and it would be wrong not to help him on his journey back home."

Commando actually snarled as he pushed his face closer to Reks.

"You're talking treason, Lutienant. I may at least understand where your coming from, but when you recover and you decide to not return, your gonna make an enemy out of yourself in the chieftains eye...meaning any aid from me or your sister will be off the table."

Piper turned Reks towards him, her eyes having lost all the joy they were full of before this topic was brought up.

"Reks...please think about what your saying. We've literally got the enemy on our doorstep, and leaving the force now of all times is only going to put you on the watch list too." With her ears splayed backward, Pipers hold on her brothers shoulders tightened. "We have a duty to -"

"No. You have a duty to the Chief." Reks interrupted as he sighed. "I've paid my dues with my excursions in the Eastern Provence, and now it's your turn to pay yours." He smiled and went to put a paw to his chest before wincing in pain. "Let me help Mitch, Piper. We'll make sure to avoid any Winter squadrons when the time comes."

Glaring at her brother, Piper shook her head and pulled him close, putting her forehead against his.

"You better be careful. The last thing I want to do is have to hunt you guys down because you guys were too lazy to be safe." She told Reks, her breath hitching slightly as Reks hugged her in return.

Commando looked at me, as if noticing how out of place I felt in all of this.

"Mind heading up a train car or two? We've got some stuff to speak about that's on a needs to know basis, and I'm sure your pegasi friends want to speak with you."

Even if a part of me wanted to stay and learn more, that part was out voiced by the majority of me that was thankful for the excuse to give the siblings some space, I slowly got up and walked my way over to the door, sliding it open and passing through with a slight hobble in my step.

A war... but I if there's a war, why didn't Blueblood or someone else in that empire mention it? Surely seeing one of the Winter tribes dogs would cause a remark or two, regardless of how high of an opinion they have.

"What do you mean, you know more about Rainbow Dash?"

Snapped out of my thoughts, I entered the next car just to be met with Zephyr Breeze and another pegasus arguing about something... loudly.

"I grew up in the same town as her, of course I'm going to know her more!" Zephyr stated smartly from a seat as he was currently attempted to style up his hair, going for a pompadour-like style this time.

"Then how come she never mentioned you while at the wonderbolts?" The other pegasus, a light blue coated mare with a yellow gold combo in her mane, retorted from the opposite side of the car before her eyes landed on me. "And I'm guessing your 'Mitch', huh. What the buck are you supposed to be?"

Caught off guard by the tack on the mare, it took me a second to respond.

"Human, and you treat everyone you just meet with that sparkling personality?" I answered, getting a snicker from Zephyr as he put down the mirror he was using to help style his mane.

"Oooooh, burn!" He giddily exclaimed before pointing at the mare and looking at me. "Mitch, meet Lightning Dust, resident pegasus and the mare who almost killed the Elements of Harmony."

"Oi! Ponies tend to forget that one of those 'Elements' caused that tornado, too!" The mare grumbled before turning her focus back to me, eyeing me up and down before frowning. "What are you supposed to be anyway?"

Starting to feel lightheaded from standing too long, I sat down next to Zephyr and leaned back into the cushiony seat.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm from another world." I told her, getting that wide-eyed reaction that was sure to become the norm with these ponies. "Signed a deal with Discord, and now I'm stuck here until I do what he wants."

"Ya know, if it wasn't for the Discord part I probably wouldn't believe you, but I've seen some of the stuff he can do so it's not that suprising in comparison to rabbits with long legs." She stated before shivering slightly, whispering "rabbits" under her breath before continuing. "But enough of that, Zephyr says you've got to go to Vanhoover, any reason why?"

Nodding my head, I lifted up the dull crystal that encased my arm and tapped it lightly.

"This baby needs an upgrade, and there's a cavern off the side of Vanhoover that holds the power to do so." I told her, watching with slight frustration as she poked my arm several times.

"Can you feel that? When I poke it?" She asked bluntly, causing Zephyr to face-hoof.

"If this is how I act around my family, I have a tartarus of an apology to say next time I see them." Zephyr muttered before looking up at me. "Mitch, did Discord ever say why he wants you to power up your core?"

Shaking my head, I looked up at the ceiling, letting my thoughts run wild.

That's actually a very good point. What was Discords endgame? I looked back on the conversation with him in that tower. And he seemed... afraid of someone. What the hell could be dangerous enough to scare someone like Discord?

"No, for whatever reason, the guy needs me for whatever he has planned." I answered as I stretched out my arms and leaned into the cushion. "Either way, it'll do good to get some rest before reaching Vanhoover. Who knows what's going to happen next?"

Following my example, Zephyr laid out on the seat next to me and tucked himself in like a dog while Lightning Dust followed suit, albeit looking quite antsy while doing so.

"This is why I hate trains... the damned things always go so slow!" She groaned as she got comfortable, ignoring the tired glare I sent her way.

Why is she here again?

"This might come off as rude and all, but why did you get on the train with us?" I asked the mare as she looked towards me with a confused expression.

"Why else? Zephyr and the rest of you guys seem to be trouble magnets, and since I've got nothing better to do right now, I figured I'd tag along and see what happens."

Great, so we quite literally have a drifter on the train... but with everything that's going on, it probably couldn't hurt to have another pony to count on

"Fair enough, just don't go causing any extra trouble for us, alright? We have enough problems as it is." I stated, getting an eye-roll infested nod from the nonchalant mare as I looked over to a sleeping Zephyr Breeze. "Damn, the dude was out quick."

"Well, you three did go toe to toe that giant wolf thing... what was that thing anyway? I've seen Timberwolves before, but never something that big or snowy." Lightning Dust asked, keeping her gaze on the peacefully sleeping pone that was next to me.

Patting the stallion on his head, I got a soft mumble in return before looking back to the mare in front of me.

"It was a winterwolf, but that one in particular is a Queen. Royal versions tend to be bigger and nastier, from what I've learned anyway." I explained, though my mind came back to what she had said before. "But what's a Timberwolf?"

The pegasi's face contorted into something similar to eating a lemon as she responded.

"Similar to those Winterwolves, only made of wood and rotting timber. They mostly live in dense forests and seem to mostly appear around the Everfree area."

"Everfree?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow as the stallion next to me snorted slightly before nodding off again.

"Yeah, it's some cursed forest near ponyville, a small town pretty far south from here." She leans in slightly, waving her hooves around like a child scaring his friends. "The place is said to house all sorts of creepy crawlies and scary monsters, and even the weather has a mind of its own."

OK, now she lost me.

"Doesn't the weather always have a kind of its own, though?" I asked, getting a laugh from the mare as she shook her head.

"What?!? Of course not!" She exclaimed loudly before wincing as Zephyr almost woke up from it. "Pegasi control the weather to allow other ponies to have good harvests or something like that."

So if they control the weather, I wonder what other natural events they have to regulate? I wondered as I looked out the window, noticing that it was currently evening again...

...Only to watch in shock as the Sun quickly went down and the moon flew up into the sky.

"Why does that keep happening?" I wondered aloud, gaining the attention of Lightning Dust as she chuckled at my suprisied expression.

"What? You don't know that the princesses control the sun and moon?" She told me, causing me to slowly look towards her with my mouth open in shock.

"They control WHAT?!?" I yelled at her, unable to stop myself thanks to the insanity of the situation.

"Mind keeping the shock and awe down a bit, Mitch? Some of us are trying to SLEEP!" Zephyr grunted out before yelling the last word, getting a wince from me as I patted his back twice.

"Sorry, Breeze. Got a bit excited there." I apologized to the pegasus, getting a hmph in return as I went back to talking with Lightning Dust.

"They control the sun and moon? How?"

The mare just shrugged. "I don't know, probably due to the fact their alicorns and all that, making them have all the power in their cores." Stretching out, the mare began to bundle up in a fashion similar to Zephyr. "Now, I'm tired as buck right now, so save any other questions ya got for the nerd sleeping next to ya tomorrow."

I then watched in absolute shock as the mare managed to conk out in seconds, starting snore a bit almost immediately after she was done talking.

"Either she's a quick sleeper, or she's fucking with me." I whispered as a door from behind me opened.

Turning my body to see who it was, I cracked a grin as I saw Reks come through the door frame and take a seat in the booth opposite to the one I was in.

"So, where are the others?" I asked him as I got up and took a seat in front of him, leaving the sleeping pegasi to rest.

Lord knows we all need it after that wolf fiasco.

"My sister and the Commander left the train already." Reks informed me, getting a furrowed brow in response.

"Uh...how? We're on a moving-" I began to say, before recalling what Commando had pulled out in his paw before. "That gem... I saw Bertha use something earlier back on the mountain. Did Commando use something like it?"

"Sharp eye, Comrade. They are called Teleport Stones, and as long as you've been to a place before, all you have to do is whisper its name, and they will transport you there." Reks answered, holding his side with an arm as he leaned back into his seat. "They had to leave shortly after you left the room, but Piper let me know where we stand in all of this."

Crossing my arms, I raised an eyebrow at my friend's wording.

"Where we stand? What's that supposed to mean?"

Reks' ears drooped slightly as he rubbed his eyes with a paw, the day's events getting to him as he tried to answer my question.

"When I told the others I was going to stick by you on your quest, I was in danger of abandoning the Winter Tribe, my pack." Reks took a deep breath as he collected his thoughts. "And moments ago, I made it official. I'm no longer part of the Winter Tribe.

"You WHAT?!?" I hissed, getting to my feet. "Why the hell did you leave them, Reks? There literally your family-"

Reks got to his feet at that, pointing a pawed finger in my face as he held his side with the other.

"Piper was family, the others were friends at most." He growled as he put that paw on my chest. "You saved my life, Comrade. It's the dog's way to pay life debts, and I wouldn't mind admitting that you gave me an out from a hairy situation."

Sitting back down, I tried to think alongside Reks train of thought, but couldn't fathom leaving an entire clan behind for a person he'd met almost a week ago.

"What hairy situation? The war?"

Reks nodded, looking out the window as the train began to leave the snow and enter a more grassy field.

"The war is only the tip of the iceberg, Comrade. This 'war' is nothing more than a civil dispute between the four tribes, and even then most dogs don't wish to fight their neighbors."

This was eerily starting to sound like some of the conflicts back home, and I really wasn't liking where this was going if that was the case.

"Odd guess here, but is it the chiefs who initiated the fighting?" I asked him, getting a solemn nod from my friend as I shook my head, wrapping my head around the news.

Piper and Commando are heading out to fight in this war...hopefully they can make it out alive.

Meanwhile, back at the empire<<<<<<

"I'm not sure I understand what your asking of me, Auntie."

Princess Celestia frowned slightly before returning her face to its usual neutral mask it so regularly adorns.

"I'm looking out for the safety of both you and your foal, Niece. With the winter wolf attack during the storm and the dark magic that was used I am simply worried for you."

Walking alongside her aunt as they made their way through the castle, Princess Cadence couldn't help but be confused at her aunt's motives.

"But if I remember correctly from what Luna and you told me, the dark magic user...healed one of the dogs using his magic?" Cadence shook her head, her wings folding slightly at the mention of dark magic. "I didn't even know dark magic could be used to heal others."

"It can't, or at least it shouldn't." Celestia stated before looking away for a moment, collecting her thoughts as they turned a corner. "That alone also raises my concerns. While new fields of magic are being discovered by the month, the idea of dark magic wielders being able to heal themselves or their allies does not sit well."

"Even so, you can't expect me to banish one person and his dog allies when all they have done has been beneficial for the Empire!" Cadence retorted as she stopped and walked over to a window, motioning to the city outside. "How many ponies were saved thanks to the actions of that healer and the Winter Tribe officers?" Turning back to her aunt, Cadence straightened her posture and stood tall. "There's a reason I keep the peace with those diamond dogs, Auntie. They have a mutually beneficial alliance with us, and the empire is safer for it."

Looking down at her niece for a moment, Celestia broke eye contact and turned away with a sigh.

"Very well. I trust your judgment, Cadence. I just wish you'd think of the bigger picture when making your decisions." Celestia relented before leaving her niece behind as she turned another corner, not noticing the saddened expression on her fellow princess.

"And I wish you'd trust the people you love enough to help you understand that the smaller picture is just as important, Auntie." Cadence whispered, her ears drooping as she turned and walked back the way they had come.

Author's Note

Hello everyone!

Finals are officially done, and I am home for the holidays! What does this mean for my writing schedule? Well, I have less stressful things to worry about, so it should be fine!

Tell me in the comments what yall thought of the chapter, or any Grammer issues yall see, heck, or just say hello! Comments mean more to me than likes, to be honest. And hearing yalls thoughts is always a day maker for me.

P.S: The second human listed in earlier chapters has been removed. I originally had something else planned for him, but decided that it wasn't going to work, so he's gone.

Chapter 17: He who dreams of cobalt sheep

Duisternis, realm of nightmares<<<<<<

Sensing his host nodding off, Maxie felt his form solidify in the realm once more, allowing the blonde nightmare to land gracefully on the silvery ichor that coated the ground of his homeland, yards away from only recently opened portal.

"Well well, looks like I hit the jackpot with this kid. It's been centuries since any vessel has shown promise in weilding this worlds power." Maxie chuckled to himself as each step he made his way towards the new exit, sending ripple after ripple through the reflective plain as the sound of each foot hitting the ground sounded off in a cocaphony of 'splish splosh'. "Then again, it might be best to not compare those two, I'd rather not get into a tussle with Harmony so soon."

Stopping right in front of the portal, Maxie found his eyes drawn to what lied on the other side...

..or rather, who.

On the other side of the portal, was what seemed to be a female of the species of his host. The woman had a lighter shade of orange in her hair that bounced across her shoulders with every turn of her head, along with a alluring set of hazel eyes that complimented the womans natural beauty.

"Ah, a lover perhaps...or considering the similar facial features perhaps a sibling?" Maxie whispered as he placed his hands on the portal, only to let out a yelp as he fell face-first through it into the occupied room.

Shaking off the landing with a grunt, Maxie began to take in his surroundings, realizing he had been the nightmare equivalent to a peeping Tom and had been watching the woman standing in an eerily empty bedroom (sparing a single bed with a simple white sheet over it, with nothing but a rather form fitting aquamarine onesie on her person.

"And who are you?" Maxie asked, only to pause at the lack of reaction from the woman, watching as she just stood frozen staring at the empty wall to his right as if waiting for something to come out.

Taking a few steps closer the nightmare waved his hand in front of her eyes several times, yet not a single blink or indication of noticing him took place, allowing Maxie to return his hand to his side with pursed lips.

"Odd, it's almost as if I'm in a dre-" Maxie stopped short, quickly realizing what he had done as he spun around towards the portal, only to find it encased in a dark blue aura. Hearing the sound of hooves land behind him, Maxie smiled wryly.

Looks like things just got interesting. Let's see if the mare still has a temper.

"So, still snooping around creatures dreams, ay Luna?" Maxie remarked, turning on his heels as he pinched his nose. "What, no one wants to hang with you in the real world, so you spend your time watching others be happy?"

Gazing into the alicorns eyes, Maxie knew damn well she was pissed. She had that snarly look that made her nose and left eye scrunch up, and her mane had decided to cosplay as a tsunami this evening.

Called it. Maxie thought was a smirk as the princess let out a deep breath through her nostrils.

"Such sass from a nightmare, has thou forgotten who we are?" The cobalt princess haughtily remarked, making the dream woman dissapear from beside her with a wave of her hoof. "We had decided to visit this creatures dreams after seeing it in the empire, and behold we find a nightmare nestled into his psyche."

Running a hand through his golden hair, Maxie couldn't stop the scowl on his face even if he wanted to.

"You think yourself so special? How long have you been back in control of that body?" Maxie asked as he held up a hand, wiggling its fingers as he held back a scoff. "Five, maybe six years since your return? Give me a break, you were better off when the nightmare had a hold of you."

Princess Lunas eyes narrowed, and with a flash of light she was now inches from Maxies face, a deep growl emanating from the royal alicorn.

"Do not test me, Nightmare. Or you will find your dispersal from this realm far more unpleasent then thou may ever be-"

"Oi, Sister. Mom and Dad wants ya down..." Mitch called out, opening a door that hadn't been present the room until he came through it, though he stopped at the sight of the two bickering beings in front of him. Rubbing his eyes a tad, Mitch seemed to shake off some sort of fog from his eyes before he looked between Maxie and Luna several times before sighing.

"Can't even escape crazy land in my dreams...FUCK!" Mitch yelled as he kicked over a table...that also wasn't there a second ago, much to the confusion of Maxie, though a look at the princess showed that her focus was less on the odd happenstance and more on the human than his nightmary self.

"Would thou happen to be...Mulch?" She asked the human cautiously, earning a slow head turn towards her and a glare.

"Mulch? Did you just call me fertilizer you horned bitch?" Mitch retorted, earning a snort from Maxie as he watched Luna's eyes narrow, the princess far from pleased with the stranger and his attitude.

"Watch thine tongue, creature, less we-"

To Maxie's surprise, and growing enjoyment, his host was unfazed by the alicorns words and marched right up to Luna, putting a finger in her face as he met her glare with his own.

"Oh hell no, you don't get to just hijack one of my best memories of my sister and boss me around." Mitch yelled, putting that same finger into the alicorns black peytral. "In the handful of days I've been in your world I have had to deal with nothing but freezing temperatures, murderous snow wolves, and this freaking crystal arm-" The man motions to his right arm, which was glittering with pure white crystal at the moment. "I lost my arm to a cave demon, for fucks sake!"

The princess, who had been ready to chew out the strange thing that was yelling at her, now found herself hesitating to do so, at a loss from the amount of suffering he had been through in such a short time.

"We...we didn't know." Luna stated softly before sighing, letting body relax a bit as her mane slowly went back to its regular magical flowing rather than the tempest it was moments prior. "Has thou truly been through so much in such a small time?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose with his regular hand, Mitch passed a glance to the slightly faded image of his sister, a mournful expression crossing his face as he felt the fight leave his body.

"Yeah...I made a deal with some god-like entity and now I'm stuck here until I can do everything that he wants."

Her attention now entirely on the newcomer, Luna failed to notice Maxie slowly stepping towards the now unblocked portal as the alicorn hesitated between standing there and trying to comfort the human.

"Pardon our boldness...but why even make such a bargain? Thou seem worse off for it, so what could drive thou to make such a choice?" The princess asked, watching the man like a cat while he made his way over to to the clouded image of the woman, who's empty gaze hadn't yet left the door that had appeared earlier.

"Well...I assume thi is all just a dream, so it probably can't hurt to tell you this..." Mitch reasoned as his eyes crossed the womans vision, yet still no reaction came from her. " ...This is my big sister, Samantha."

Turning to Luna, the man gave her a smile she recognized far to well. It had been the same type of smile the princess gave her sister when asked if she was "ok" or if "everything was alright" that day.

It was a hollow smile, devoid of any actual joy, and it seeing it on another soul that wasn't herself made the alicorn wince at the reminder of her refusal to open up to her sister.

Is my facade as see through as his? was the thought that echoed through the Lunar Diarchs head, flashes of times she had put her own mask while walking the halls of her home. Does Tia know how I feel? Or have I yet again managed to hide this from her?

Pushing those thoughts down, Luna turned her attention back to the man in front of her, noticing he had now placed himself on the foot of the bed nearby, his wriggly appendages placed evenly on his legs as he let out a pained sigh.

"My sister was an amazing person. Growing up, she always had my back, and was even the one who pushed for me to go to college...though she never went herself." Mitch laid back on the bed, looking up into the empty space above the room as memories of his childhood rushed through his mind. "Samantha was quite content living the small life, she worked as a manager for a personal business of hers called 'Thread the Needle', where she and a few of her friends turned workers made or sewed up clothing for people in town."

Walking over to the bed, the princess took a seat on the bed, placing herself to the right of the forlorn man while mulling over where to even begin in talking to him.

This isn't like the Element Bearers or my sister, this is a newcomer who's been effectively stranded by a deal gone wrong...How does one even approach conversation with such a stranger? With a silent charge of her horn, Luna scanned the odd creature in front of her, noticed something that made her blood run cold.

The being, who was currently rambling on about his apparent siblings personal life, had an artifical magic core. Not only this, but it was made of a rather unique dark magic. The same dark magic that-

A small pop nearby caused Luna to quickly turn to where the nightmare had been, only to find him gone and the portal she had blocked earlier missing as well.

Slipped away while I was distracted...Damn it all!

"Uh...are you ok? Your fidgeting a lot there."

Snapped from her internal curses, Luna turned her gaze back to the man in front of her, who had sat up and was watching her warily.

"Tis nothing...but can thou explain why thine magic core is tainted with the Nightmare magic?"

With that question, Mitch was officially confused. Back at Sunbursts house, not a single mention of chaos magic was said, and here was this odd pony in his dreams questioning him about his magic core?

Looking the pony over and seeing the horn and wing combo, it slowly dawned on him that this was one of the ponies that Maxie had warned him of last time they had met up, and how much of an idiot Mitch had been just running his mouth off the pest few minutes was now crystal clear.

I've been chatting away with this horse this whole time, and I didn't stop once to think about how the fuck she was carrying the conversation so well for a dream?! Mitch internally panicked as he slowly began to realize just how wrong all of this was. She's some kind of freaking dreamwalker...if this is the power these alicorn ponies have how the hell am I supposed to keep them off my back?

"Thou seem panicked..." Luna stated, though it was not a question moreso a verbal stab at an increasingly nervous Mitch. "Pray tell, why? Thou was fine moments before when speaking of your sister, what changed?"

Mitch shot off the bed, facing the alicorn as he backed away slowly from the bed, trying to get as much distance from the alicorn as possible.

"How are you here? This is a dream in my head, so how are you standing here right now?"

The alicorn gracefully stood, and began to move towards the human, each step she took sending a small ripple through the bedroom.

"We are Luna, the princess of the night. Each and every dream within this realm is at my mercy." Mitch's backside hits the door as Luna stops, flaring her wings and standing straighter as her form looked downright menacing in the darkened room, now void of whatever light the dream was casting and left with whatever was causing the alicorns body to illuminate itself. "Now, we grow tired of your games, tell us why thou host a nightmare in your soul or we shall rip it out of you and interrogate the fiend instead!"

Staring down the slowly approaching dream alicorn, Mitch felt his heart beating out of his chest as he felt his thoughts running at the speed of sound.

What the heck do I do? The horse has magic power of dreams, so there's no point fighting her... Staring at Luna's shining horn, no doubt prepping to cast some sort of spell, his thoughts trailed off as a lightbulb actually went off above his head (Mitch decided it be best to just roll with it, when in Rome!) allowing a smile to come to Mitch's face as another winner of an idea was born.

Seeing the smile on his face, Lun watched apprehensively as the human knelt down into a sprinting position.

"Are thou mad? You know thou cans't win this fight?"

Looking up at the princess, Mitch grit his teeth and breathed out slowly as he pushed forward quickly. Slighty caught off guard at the quickly approaching humans speed, Luna fired off a beam of energy from her horn and causing Mitch to slam into the door, nearly slamming the wooden object right off its hinges at the impact.

"Bloooooody hell, that stings." Mitch groaned weakly as Luna wasted no time and marched up to the human, pointing her horn near his face as she began to charge it once more.

"We won't ask again, vessel. Where did you get your nightmare?"

Coughing up a bit of dream blood, all Mitch could do was crack a half-assed grin as he stared down the horn in front of him.

"Sorry, princess...but this vessel is in another castle."

Putting what was left of his energy into the motion, Mitch slammed his face down on the horn, and to the absolute horror of the princess attached to it as she felt the creatures head slide down past her horn and connect with her head, the body going limp for a moment before bursting into small dust particles that slowly spread across the ground, leaving an agitated alicorn in their wake.

"We will find thou, tainted creature." Luna swore, swiping some dream dust off her face with a hoof as the dream began to dissapate. "None can hide from the night forever."

Train to Vanhoover, Mitch POV<<<<<<

Shooting up with a start, I wiped my head with a hand only to pull it back in disgust as it was now covered in sweat.

"Gross...hope there's a shower on this train." I whispered as I glanced around the car I was in. Seeing how dark it was outside, it had to have been a few hours since Reks and informed me of his desertion of the winter corps.

Looking over at the sleeping dog, who was currently snuggled up on a seat all to himself, I couldn't stop the frown from appearing as I remembered what he had told me about his people.

So beneath all the technicolored ponies and magic tricks, there's some serious crap going down. hell, even that princess was scary, and that was just in my dreams!

My eyes wandered over to Zephyr, who had somehow made a three-way cuddle pile between lightning Dust and that Gummi Bear Discord had created.

They've definitely earned their rest, especially after everything that's went down recently. I thought with a yawn as sat back down and looked out the window, seeing nothing but snow and mountain range.

Vanhoover, huh? Wonder what kind of chaos is going to unfold there?

Author's Note

AAAAAAND I'M BACK! Again...

I had a huge brain fog for writing come up after the last chapter, and to be quite honest I was worried I wouldn't ever come back, but I did! Managed to have a spark of inspiration recently, and was pushed to make this chapter.

IF I can keep this going, you can probably expect another chapter sometime in the next like 2-3 weels (College + Army = little to no free time)

Either way, I hope you liked the chapter, and please if yall see any grammer mistakes or actually just want to comment then do so! it really helps motivate the writer (me) to write more when I get feedback, even if its small.

(Note: I tried some more 3rd person here, but if yall like first person more Ill stick to that)

Chapter 1: How it all began

<<<<<>>>>>

"GET OUT OF THE DAMN WAY, YOU OVERGROWN TODDLER!!!"

I swerved around the car that decided to go fifty on a seventy mile per hour speed limit highway, gaining enough speed to pass it and return to my casual eighty miles an hour on the highway, barely looking back at the lime green Mustang and its bald driver as I passed it while trying my hardest to suppress a few choice words for its driver.

People these days cant go faster than seventy miles on a highway?

Sighing to myself and turning up the radio, I let my anger fade away as I lost myself in the soothing melody of death metal.

"Turn right in six hundred yards and enter highway seventy-five for two hundred miles, then take a left." My GPS stated from my Bluetooth headpiece as I followed it instructions before reaching for the radio. But just as I was about to find another song to play, my phone began to buzz from its perch on the air conditioning.

Looking at it, I realized it was receiving a call so I swiped green and turned the radio down to zero.

"Yello?" I said as a laugh came through the speaker, a laugh I recognized the second a decibel was heard.

"Yo, Mitch! Wazzup man!" I heard a familiar voice ring out, making me grin a mile wide.

"Dennis, my man! How's Cincinnati's resident Apple king doing?" I asked him as I passed a black Toyota and went into the left lane.

You see, Before I left for college, Dennis had participated in a eating contest at our resident high school, one that had focused on fruits only. Dennis, being the living vacuum cleaner that he is, won by consuming almost two hundred apples in one sitting, earning him a big blue ribbon and a cash prize he blew on more food.

Probably helped that the fucker was three hundred pounds and stood at almost seven feet, the man was a BEAST! Hell, I think that's what amazed me the most when I first met him, honestly. I'd never seen a guy eat so much in such a small amount of time, and still haven't to this day.

"Hah! Did you know someone attempted to beat my record, Mitch? He only got to sixty-five apples before he croaked!" Dennis exclaimed as he howled with laughter.

"Some people don't know when their beat, bro." I told him as I returned to the right lane and slowed down to seventy due to several cops being on the side of the road up ahead. Thank the lord for a Jeep that can slow down and accelerate quickly, or I'd have been pulled over by now.

"Yo, I heard your done with college, is that true?" Dennis asked me as I smiled, picking back up to seventy-nine after passing the cops.

"Yeah, man. Just graduated last week with my diploma. I'm heading home right now, just about two hours out." I told him, allowing me to hear that stupid dying dog cry of a laugh he has again.

"Great, bro! Looks like we can get the boys back together one last time before we get overtaken by taxes and shit." Dennis exclaimed as I couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"True that, man. True that." I told him as silence took over the car for a bit before he spoke up again.

"Speaking of taxes, guess who got a job!" Dennis exclaimed, making me look at the phone for a second in suprise.

"What?! No way! Doing what?" I asked him eagerly, pulling down the overhead mirror to block the sun's glare.

"I dont even know! But it was given to me by a rich looking dude, so its gotta be good!" He informed me, making me groan as I had an urge to face-palm, but couldnt due to their being a rough bit of traffic in front of me.

"You accepted a job...and didnt ask what it was?" I asked him as I could feel his nod from the other side while I slowly pushed through the traffic jam.

"Yup! Figures I should spice my life up!" He said with a laugh as I passed through the traffic and sped back up. "So, tell me about-" He went to continue before I heard what sounded like a doorbell on his end. "Oh! That must be him! See ya later, Mitch!"

"Alright, talk to ya when I get back!" I said before hanging up, allowing me to focus back on the road entirely...

...just in time to see a man standing in the middle of my lane waving me down.

Now, if I was on a normal road or even a residential area, I could've stopped or swerved out of the way. But I was going about eighty-three miles on that highway, and there was no way I was stopping or turning fast enough without flipping my Wrangler.

I clenched the wheel tightly, bracing for impact, as I was milliseconds from hitting the man when suddenly he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

As soon as he did so, the entire Jeep stopped cold, inches from him as he flashed me a smile.

Looking out my side and rear view windows I noticed every other car on the highway had stopped as well, even the ones going the other way.

What the hell was going on? I didn't hear the guy say Chaos Control!

Turning back to the man, I noticed him turn his hand around and flick his fingers in a "Come here" motion.

Getting out of the Jeep, I took a step towards him, looking him over.

He was a weird man, alright. The guy stood at at least seven feet and had almost grey skin that seemed to mesh well with his brown tuxedo and yellow tie. His fingers had nails about six inches long that somehow looked more like claws than parts of his hands. He had grey-ish hair that had a 2 strands of yellow in them that went down parallel with each other on his front.

The man smiled at me, waving at me as he pulled put a small bucket of popcorn, shaking it slightly as he lifted it towards me.

"Want some?" He asked his voice a mixture of a scratchy and a smooth tone.

I sat there for a second, completely dumbfounded, before my mind woke up, and I answered him with the most respect a guy can have.

"You pull some timey-wimey jumbo here by stopping my car, and all you do is offer me popcorn?!" I exclaimed as the man threw the popcorn off to the side with a groan.

"Fine then, no popcorn for you. It's so hard to please people these days." The man grumbled as I watched his popcorn bucket grow legs and walk off...Excuse me?

Before I could question it, the man had closed in on me in the blink of an eye, holding out what looked like a piece of paper.

"Tell me, human? Do you have any pressing matters that need ethereal assistance?" He asked me, causing me to frown and push him out of my face.

"No, I don't have any matters that I need help with, especially not from some random twat on the highway." I exclaimed as he gave me a twisted grin.

"Really? What about...her?" He asked me before pulling a small picture frame from the inside of his tuxedo, allowing me to see who was on it.

I looked at the picture for a second, recognizing the girl in the picture before looking back to the man, now not only confused but pissed as well.

"First off, that's not funny. There's no cure for what she has. Second off, you might want to leave before I kick your ass for even attempting to joke about something like that." I growled, balling up my fists as I saw a smirk appear on the man's face.

"Ah! You really are a firecracker of emotion aren't you? Seems Wrinkles was right about warning me of that temper of yours when your family is mentioned." The man said before shaking his head. "Nevertheless, I would calm down because for once in my life I am deadly serious and am the only...person who can cure the girl."

I gave him a death glare, but took a deep breath and relaxed my fists.

"Really? How the hell do you plan on curing something like that, because last I checked it doesn't have a cure." I snarked at him as he frowned and tilted his head.

"And what year is this?" He asked as I raised an eyebrow.

"Twenty-o-eight, why?" I asked him as he laughed again, though the smile he wore never reached his eyes.

"Amateurs, you've barely scratched the surface of medical providence, let alone a cure for something like that, though not a suprise considering you lack the magical touch necessary to evolve." He said before face-palming. "But look at me, I've gotten off topic...again. I'm such a disorganized rascal at times."

He walked over to me and gave the paper that literally said contract in big letters on its front. "You've already seen my power when I stopped your...automobile. So helping that girl is nothing for me. Simply sign the paper and I'll heal her immediately."

Looking between him and the paper I couldn't help but feel something was off.

"Really? What do I have to do in return?" I asked him as he pulled a pen from his jacket pocket and gave it to me.

"Oh, I just need someone capable of causing some fresh new chaos for me, and you seemed to be a good candidate. Don't worry, it won't be hard...for me anyway." He said with a laugh as I grabbed the pen and, with a deep breath, signed the paper.

I mean, its just a sheet of paper, right? And besides, what's the worst that can happen?

The man smiled widely, his yellow eyes gleaming as he snatched the document from me and stuffed it in his tux before turning away from me.

"Thanks for your cooperation. I'll be sending you to your designated workplace in Canterlot immediately. Do me a favor and make sure to mess with the princesses extra for me?" He said as I stepped forward and grabbed his wrist as he had went to snap them.

"Wait, where the hell is Canterlot? And princesses? What am I supposed to do?" I asked him as he suddenly winced and pushed me down, holding the wrist I had touched as I noticed it looked less colorful than the rest of his body after I touched it.

"Why did you do that! You stupid humans simply can't help but touch and not look, can you? You better hope my magic still works properly." He stated with a growl as he snapped his fingers.

Before I could ask him what he meant by magic the entire world began to close in on me, everything started fading to black while it felt like I was being encased in a small box with no way of knowing where I was going.

The last thing I remember seeing before the black overtook me was the man from before growing bigger somehow with...horns coming out of his head?

<<<<<----------->>>>>

*poke*

"Mhmmm...wake me up when finals are due, Toby."

*poke poke*

"Wha...why are you waking me up in the middle of the-"

*WHACK!*

"Shit!" I yelled out as I shot up quickly into a sitting position as I noticed three things right off the bat.

One: It was dark as hell wherever I was, and the only light I could see was this lamp that was on the ground.

Two: I wasn't alone. From the small lamp light I could make out two stocky figures on my left and one skinnier one on the right of me, though this one had a stick and was probably the culprit of my splitting headache.

Three: I was wearing everything I had one in my Jeep, which were a blue shirt and black sweatpants, but for some reason the image of a computer that was on my shirt was gone...weird.

"What are you?" One of the stocky sillioutes stated as the skinny one pointed the stick at my neck.

I squinted my eyes, trying to focus on any of them but the little light I was receiving from the lamp wasn't helping at all.

"What am I? Don't you mean who?" I asked them as I went to stand, but the skinny guy with the stick growled at me. "Why the hell are you growling? What are you, some sort of dog?"

For a second none of them said anything until one of the stocky one grabbed the lamp and lifted it up to their face, allowing me to see...

...What the actual hell?

The thing holding the lamp was actually a fucking dog! Even with the small lighting, I could make out his black fur and slightly mangled face. The thing kinda reminded me of a Rottweiler, with its pudgy face and wrinkly fur.

"What do you mean? We are dogs!" He stated in a firm yet slightly rough voice that would probably be synonymous with a caveman. He pointed to his two comrades and laughed in that weird pant dogs do when their happy. "We are all dogs here...except you."

Putting my hands up in a defeated motion, I gave them a innocent smile as I tried to show them I wasn't a threat. As easily as I think I could take one of these guys alone, I was outnumbered. Not to mention the stick the skinny one had looked sharp as well, and I was not planning on getting impaled anytime today.

"Ok Ok, no need to start ostracizing people because they don't have fur. If you could just tell me how to leave I'll be on my way." I said with a definite hitch of worry in my voice as all three of them laughed.

"Your not going anywhere, furless one." The skinny one with the stick stated in a slightly nasally voice as he walked past the lamp, showing off his golden fur and longer tail than the other two. "C'mon, you rats! We've got ourselves another seeker!"

The two big dogs, the second one was an almost exact twin of the other, grabbed me by the arms and began to 'guide' me after him. As they pulled me along I began to run the situation through my mind, trying to ignore the welling sense of panic in my chest.

Alright, so that crazy guy from before snapped his fingers...and now I'm here. How the hell did that happen? I tripped slightly over a rock I couldn't see, causing the two dogs to give me a warning growl.

And now Im being taken prisoner by dog people...that can talk and everything!!! Looking around me, I noticed several torches that lined up the walls, allowing me to realize that I was in a cave.

I looked ahead at the tall dog in front of me, deciding to ignore the fact I could feel what had to be a spider going up my leg as I couldn't do anything about it thanks to my arms being held by my bulky kidnappers.

And now I'm in some sort of underground cave system...is this that Canterlot the guy mentioned? And if so, am I going to meet real princesses?

I was shaken out of my thoughts as I was pushed into a small room and heard a chink sound behind me. Turning around I was met with bars, which only meant-

"You put me in a cell? Why?!" I exclaimed as the three dogs looked at me with dangerous grins on each of their faces.

"We can't have our workers running away!" One of the stocky Rottweilers stated as the taller dog that, thanks to the better light in whatever room they brought me to, I could tell resembled a German Shepherd, spoke up.

"You will help us find gems...or we will paint that cell red with your blood." He exclaimed with a cackle as him and his goons walked over to some other cages built into the cavern walls while I looked at my new living space.

There was some hay on the ground and a hole in the floor that had what had to be holding the dirtiest water I've seen in years. No bed, no toilet, and certainly no food anywhere.

Sitting down in the hay, I couldn't help but instinctively bring my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them.

What the hell did I get myself into? I thought to myself, shivering slightly from the chill in the air.

Author's Note

Well well well well! Look who decided to go and post a new story.

So, I'm not a big fan of the first chapters in writing things, so that's why it's kinda short. Don't worry, other chapters will (hopefully) be longer. That, and I feel...odd about this chapter. It's a good odd, but an odd nonetheless.

I'm hoping to get out a chapter once every week or two, maybe faster or slower depending on college work and life.

As is the usual, please comment about...well anything you want in regards to the story. All criticism is greatly appreciated, as long as it's not just "Oh, it's just a HiE, better downvote!"

Chapter 9: Ventures in the Crystal Empire Pt.1

Mitch POV<<<<<<

"Shit." I swore under my breath as I slowly made my way towards the Piper and Reks, hoping that the hobble I had with each step wasn't noticeable.

Odd...even with my legs magically healed they still feel a bit sore. Guess my magic isn't a fix all tool then. I thought with a grimace, approaching the two dogs as they were looking over the minecart they had been traveling in.

Or what was left of it anyway. Considering it was somehow lodged halfway into the ground with its back end visible (The wheels were still spinning and everything!) while the other half stayed buried under the snow, though the ground around it was charred slightly.

Noticing my stare, Piper gave me a sheepish smile as her tail curled around her legs.

"So...we might've wrecked the minecart on our way out of the cave." She admitted as she shook her head, her ears bent downwards behind her. "We were lucky enough to jump ship before it flew off the rails, and luckier still it didn't end crashing into the cavern walls mid-trip."

"Well, at least you guys are ok. Thats far more important than some minecart." I assured her as I found my eyes drawn behind the Captain. "Whoa...is that the Empire?"

Walking past Piper and her brother, who was currently looking over some of the coal from the cart with a frown, I couldn't help but be transfixed by what was in front of me.

About a half of a football field away down the hill we were on, the snow ended and what seemed to be quite huge circle of grass that held a city in the center of it, with what had to be some sort of tower in its center.

That place looks HUGE! But whats with the Eiffel tower thing in the middle?

"I cant believe it! we finally made it to the Empire!!!" Zephyr exclaimed, hovering next to me with a smile as we gawked at the kingdom below, mutually astounded by the raw beauty of the crystal shaped kingdom. "I saw pictures of this place thanks to the pamphlet I got from the mane school, but I never thought it would be this amazing!"

Turning back around, I noticed Piper had a smug grin on her face as she was watching us.

"So, you boys done gawking at the sights of the winter kingdom, or are we going to actually go down there and see it up close? We're gonna need to replace the supplies we lost in the cave and we can't do that here." She asked with a slight bark in her tone, though the shimmer in her eyes showed that she was messing with us.

"Of course we're going down there." I told her as something came to me as I noticed something interesting. "Wait... you mentioned winter, but this is the warmest I've been outside of the caves we've been in."

It was a good point to make. We were in in the north, surrounded by snow and I had a short sleeve on, yet it felt like a summers day in Florida.

What the hell!? Why couldn't Alaska had been like this?

Zephyr landed next to us, jerking his head slighty towards the shiny city below.

"From what I remember, whatever powers the city keeps the surrounding area as warm as spring...some kind of crystal thingy or somewhat." Zephyr shrugged, already disinterested in what he was talking about. "Never really bothered to learn more since it didn't involve the mane school I'm here for."

"What is this school your trying to go to, anyway? You've mentioned it a lot, but you never go into detail about it." Piper asked the pegasus beside me, earning a enthusiastic smile from Zephyr.

"I've got an in at the Crystal Cheveu, the hottest mane therapy school in the Empire!" Zephyr exclaimed joyfully as he got up on his hindlegs. "This is my chance to finally make it BIG in the world and spread my name and skills across the globe!"

Shaking my head slightly, I couldn't stop myself from chuckling at his exuberant state.

"Ya know, Zephyr. You don't seem like the type of guy who lives in cold places, why didn't you just find a mane school somewhere down south?" I asked the pegasus, earning a sigh from Zephyr as he fell on his haunches.

"Believe me, Mitch. I tried! But every other school couldn't accept my unique works of art over their 'required styles'!" He raised a hoof to his face, blocking his eyes from view as he turned away from us dramatically. "It's all so political!"

With a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head, Piper walked past us and started down the hill towards the city.

"You boys can keep talking about hair and fashion all day, but I'd rather go and find something to eat before Reks tries to eat our stallion fashonetta. " Piper stated over her shoulder just as Reks walked past us, pausing briefly to turn Zephyr and give him a wide toothy smile before following after his sister.

"W-W-What? H-He wouldn't do that, right?" Zephyr asked in shock as I shook my head with a laugh and walked after the dog duo, hearing Zephyr wings start to flap erratically as he followed after us quickly.

"MITCH?! HE WAS JOKING, RIGHT?! MIIIIIIIITCH?!"

Meanwhile, At Canterlot Castle<<<<<<

"Sister, are you ready to depart?" A voice voice rang clear from the bedroom door as Celestia ears perked up, recognizing the voice immediately.

"Yes, Luna...just looking over some things Raven left for me." Celestia answered her sister as she flipped through the elegantly written pages that held her faithful assistants report.

Even a princess needs help occasionally, and without Raven, she wouldn't be where she is today, especially with how busy things have gotten lately for the two sisters.

The first three were all the normal noblepony complaints and documents to look over, but the last two pages were what interested the sun monarch the most.

One page held reports of a high amount of dark magic spikes reported up north nearby the Crystal Empire. Celestia had thought about sending Twilight and her friends to look into it, but decided not to after receiving an invitation from her niece to go up north for her first crystalling.

That thought sent a wave of giddiness down to Celestias old soul. Her own niece was not only married and with her first foal! (Though Celestia couldn't help but notice that her niece had withheld what type of pony the infant was from the letter, though perhaps the suprise of finding out will be worth the wait.) Not to mention they would be taking part in a celebration ritual that had been thought to be lost to Sombra long ago.

On the note of Sombra and darkness, Celestia looked couldn't help but frown, recalling the surge of magic she had felt in the mountains up north the previous day.

Whatever had gone off or been activated was powerful enough for her to sense all the way across Equestria, not to mention she had felt a second surge of that same magic...only this time it was closer to her niece's kingdom.

Shaking those thoughts from her mind with a royal smile, Celestia sped up her walk to a royal trot, eager to catch up with her sister who was no doubt waiting impatiently by the royal carriage for her arrival.

After all, her and Luna were going on a family trip up north anyway, and there was no reason to let something as vague as a couple dark magic spikes get to her on this joyous occasion.

Now, if only she could get that gnawing feeling out of her gut that something was going to go wrong.

Mitch POV, Back in the Empire<<<<<<

Entering the Empire, I had expected to get weird looks or panicking citizens as two dogs, a human, and a slighty unshaved pegasus roamed the streets, but none of the citizens seemed to care about our appearances. Hell, a couple of them even waved at Piper and Reks as they passed us by, greeting them warmly as we walked down the light blue crystal road

"Well, aren't you guys popular?" I stated as a couple of foals had decided to latch onto Rek's legs as we walked, though the big guy showed no discomfort from doing so and even seemed be enjoying it if his smile said anything about it.

Piper snickered at the sight of her brother becoming a ponymobile. "Well, We do tend to be the messengers for the Chief when delivering gifts or trade agreements with the princess." Piper answered as Zephyr turned to the Captain with wide eyes.

"You've met the princess!?!" He exclaimed as Piper nodded.

"Yup. She's not as big as the legends say alicorns are supposed to be though, which makes me wonder just how young she is." Piper said before pointing ahead to a building on the corner of the street. "There! We can get food at that cafe!"

The building itself didn't seem too impressive. It held the same crystal walls and flooring as the rest of the kingdoms building did, though it sported some nice looking circle tables outside its building with those big umbrellas in their centers.

"Finally! I'm starving!" Zephyr exclaimed as he zipped over to an open table while Piper and I followed, though Reks ended up lagging behind slightly due to having to pull his young passengers of his legs with a bit more effort than one would think.

"What can I get for you and your friends today, Captain?" A rather small mare asked us in a paper plain tone as soon as we sat down. She had grey fur that blended well with her faded violet mane that seemed to both droop at the sides and hang over her face, though the lackluster combination of color and style seemed to be a good combination for someone who wanted to blend with a crowd or not stand out.

Where the hell did she come from? I thought as she passed out colorful menus to each one of us, each one adorned with pink and blue hearts that surrounded the many soup and sandwhich options on the menu.

"Reks and I will both take the usual, Jade." Piper answered the pony as she folded her paws together neatly on the table just as Reks finally managed to sit down on my right, looking quite giddy as he kept his gaze on the waitress. "What about you, Mitch?"

"Uhhh...." Skimming the menu, I found something that looked edible. "How about the Appleloosan chili bowl?"

Nodding her head, Jade turned to Zephyr, who had sat on my right and was face deep into the menu. "And for you, sir?"

Looking up from the menu, Zephyr gave a flirty grin and winked.

"I'll have the same thing as my friend Mitch." He said in what was a poor attempt at a masculine tone as he slapped my back with his wing, causing the mare rolled her eyes and grabbed the menus from us before walking off into the building next to us.

"So, did she write down our orders or does she have it memorized somehow?" I asked Piper, noticing the waitress didn't have any writing utensils with her earlier.

"Jade? Oh, she has great memory. It's half the reason this place does so well." Piper answered me as she motioned to the surrounding tables around us, each with about 5 seats around them. "You see, these tables could all be full, yet she would remember who ordered what from each seat."

"Damn, that's cool. What I wouldn't do to remember things that well. Hell, that would've made college a lot easier!" I joked as Zephyr tilted his head slightly as he turned to me.

"You went to college?" He asked me with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I gave him the bird as I answered his question.

"Yes, I went to college. I was on my way back from graduating when I was brought here in the first place."

"What did you study?" Piper asked me while Reks crossed his arms and leaned back a little, seemingly getting comfortable as he awaited my response.

"I had originally wanted a major in economics...but halfway through my first semester I ended up going to a play at the behest of one of my buds back home." I scratched the back of my head with my normal hand as I looked back on that day. "I think the play was called Hamlet, and I enjoyed it so much I ended up switching majors to film production instead."

"Whoa...you have a film major? Does that mean you want to make movies?" Zephyr asked me with a big grin, now heavily invested in my story.

So invested in fact, that he failed to notice that the waitress had came back with our meals. Reks and Piper had gotten identical foot long subs, though the captains had more veggies on it while Reks' had more meat. Zephyr and my soups got placed in front of us alongside some reeeaaaally shiny silverware.

"Yeah, I planned on making a movie someday...if only I could find out which genre to cast." I said as I watched Zephyrs right hoof slowly lower into the steaming soup bowl as he kept his focus on me. Piper and Reks had noticed it as well, and the latter grabbed his sister's paw to keep her from pulling Zephyrs hoof out of the way of the bowl.

"Well, if your ever in need of a mane stylist for your actors, you've got a soon-to-be-certified mane styler in front of yo-AGH!!!" He went to state proudly before yelping like a child as he pulled his hoof out of the steaming bowl and started fanning it rapidly while blowing on it, all the while Reks and I nearly fell out of our seats with how hard we were laughing.

"C'mon, guys. That's not funny." Piper said with a frown as she grabbed a couple napkins off a nearby table and passed them to Zephyr, who immediately grabbed them and began wiping his hoof down while sending a glare straight at me.

"Not cool, dude. Why didn't you say anything?" He asked me as I calmed down and winced slightly at the angry stare I was receiving from the pegasus.

"And you! You know better than to let someone hurt themselves!" Piper exclaimed, slapping Reks upside the head as the dog whimpered slightly from the blow before deciding to eat his sandwich in silence.

"Alright...I'm sorry for not warning you about dipping your fragile hooves into the soup." I apologized as Reks snorted out a laugh and Piper face-pawed.

None the wiser to how I worded the apology, Zephyr gave me a weak smile as he finished wipping off his hoof.

"Thanks for apologizing, Mitch. That wasn't very-HEY!" Zephyr exclaimed before pointing his now dry hoof at me. "My hooves aren't fragile! They're just genetically delicate, is all!"

Piper groaned and put her face into the table while her brother held his sides from how hard he was laughing.

"This is my life. Surrounded by three loud males who are the mental age of a pup." She muttered while I grabbed my spoon and took a short sip of what was in the bowl.

"Holy shit this is good!" I exclaimed as soon as my mouth was empty, immediately going for a bigger spoonful while Zephyr looked on in suprise.

"Is it that good?" He asked aloud before putting his spoon in his left wing tips and taking a spoonful himself. "It Ish goodhs!"

While Zephyr began to copy my speed-eating, Reks had already finished his sub and was currently occupied with pulling out several weapons from his chest and looking them over.

Things stayed like that for a couple minutes, nothing but quiet eating and the sounds of metal being moved around piercing the silence before Pipers chest began to glow blue.

Stopping mid-bite, I pointed my crystal finger at the captain.

"Your boobs are glowing." I said plainly, causing her to blink in suprise at the out of left field comment.

"Excuse me? Why in Tartarus are you staring at my-WAIT THEY ARE?!" She started off angry, but suddenly became excited as she reached into her tunic and pulled out a necklace with a blue gem attached that was giving off a gentle blue shine.

"Reks, give me my armour." She said quickly, causing her brother to leer at her as he did what he was told and pull the blue colored armour from his fur.

Ugh...am I glad thats his power and not mine. That looks sooo messed up. I shuddered in disgust as Piper put her armour and greaves on.

"What's the rush?" Zephyr asked Piper as she finished donning her armour and squeezed her brother in a big hug.

"This gem only goes off when my mate is nearby, and I haven't seen him in months!" She exclaimed before releasing her sibling (Who was currently attempting to regain oxygen in his lungs) and turning to me, her face suddenly serious. "Alright, I have to go and find my mate real quick, but after that I have to follow orders and head back to the tribe." She points at Reks first, then down the street behind her. "Reks is going to help you out with whatever the chief told you to do, but if it involves your core than your best bet is looking around near the castle for someone knowledgeable on the dark arts." She finished as I nodded my head, understanding her position but also a bit saddened to see the enthusiastic dog leave us.

"Thanks for the tip, and take care, Captain. Have fun with your man." I told her with a wink while she waved at us and jogged off down the path we had entered the city in. "So, what about you?" I asked the pegasus next to me, who was staring off into space with a frown on his face.

Realizing I was talking to him, Zephyr turned his gaze to me as he stood up from his chair.

"Well, I think I might follow in Pipers footsteps. I've got to go and register for the therapy school, and get ready for the classes I'll be taking." He answered as he fidgeted in place for a bit before extending his hoof as a soft smile graced his features. "Thanks, Mitch. Without you, I'm sure I'd be still locked up on that mountain looking for that stupid doorway."

"Don't give me too much credit, I'm sure Bertha would've lost her patience well before then." I told him as I shook his hoof with my hand. "Good luck in Mane school, delicate hooves."

Zephyr let out a snort as he began to hover off the ground. "Whatever you say, Dog boy."

With that, the pegasus took off over the rooftops and towards the castle area, though it looked like he veered left a bit before going out of sight.

Turning back to Reks, I couldn't help but notice how...alone I felt at that moment.

This whole time, I've had a group of people with me to talk to and hang out with...Now it's just me and a dog who doesn't talk.

Letting out a sigh, I went to say something to Reks but was interrupted as the waitress came back with a piece of paper in her right hoof.

"Whenever you're ready." She stated plainly before turning and walking off to another group of ponies that had sat nearby. Looking down at the paper, I almost felt my heart stop when I realized it was the check.

For fucks sake, they left the man from another world with the BILL?!

Author's Note

Writers block is an unforgiving bitch sometimes.

And with this chapter we begin the Crystal Empires very own story arc! There were a couple tells here and there hinting at later chapters and what will happen, so take that as you will.

Other than that, I'll see yall next time!

The chapter in which the author went on haitus for a month

NOTE: Everything written after this paragraph was written when I went on a break from the story. However, thanks to the friendly comments in this chapter I decided to keep it in rather than delete it.

You can skip it or read it, do as ya wish.

<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

Hey...It's me. the author of this story.

I've been on this site for a while, and I've seen many a good story get turned to haitus status and the author that did so decides to dissappear from FIM for who knows what reason.

That's not me.

However...I've been stuck trying to write this chapter for almost a month and nothing has come to mind...yet. I've had plenty of ideas, but they all have been for something else entirely (something I'll be working on while attempting to continue this story).

Dogs of War IS NOT DEAD, though. I just need a small break from it is all. (If I tried to just mash together the story I'm trying to put out here for the sake of releasing a chapter, I'd get a jumbled mess that none of yall deserve.)

In other words...for now this story is on a break, as painful as it is for me to do so. As soon as I can create the scenes I'm looking for though, this series will continue! I SWEAR! For now though, prepare to see something else soon that I've been working on behind the scenes while brainstorming ideas for this fic.

Author's Note

Really sorry about this yall. But I'd rather not release a half-assed chapter and let yall down. Dogs of War will continue once I can get the motivation I need.